For What's Right
by SUP3RRAY
Summary: When Pokemon have entered our world and brought their powers with them, what will one teenager have to do for what's right?
1. Prologue

**Hello everyone! This will be my first time posting my stories online and I must say that I am looking forward to it!**

**I do not own Pokémon or anything Pokémon related. I also do not own any songs; they are not my personal songs. The story is mine and the characters are mine. Contains swearing, blood, death, and Human x Pokémon.**

**Prologue**

"Who are you?" The voice boomed in my mind, echoing throughout my very being. Its authoritative voice brought a great fear from within my core given the circumstances.

"I am Alex Mora," I hesitantly replied, taking in my surroundings. Well, my lack of surroundings. At this point time, I am dead, but I am, shall we say, present for a lack of a better word. There was only darkness even though I could clearly tell that my eyes were open. I could clearly see my body, still fully clothed and equipped as if I were alive. Although I was dead, I could feel, and I currently felt like I was descending. To where? I have no idea.

"Why are you here?" This "being" was nowhere to be seen, yet I could still hear him clearly as if it was speaking into my mind.

"I am here because I am dead."

"Why did you die?"

"I was protecting a loved one."

"Who was this 'loved one'?"

My mind was flooded with the memories of her, from the moment we met to our final moments together. I remember her clearly; she was a Lucario, a Pokémon, and one of the reasons I had to keep fighting. Wherever we were and no matter who we were with, she was bold, cunning, confident, and strong. She always gave me a sense of security, letting me know that she would protect me. She had streaks of jet black fur across her face like a ninja mask, forepaws with steel spikes that protruded on the back, strong legs that carried her bipedal form, and four appendages at the back of her head for her aura sensors. The rest of her face, arms, and thighs were a navy blue color while a black band separated her cream-colored torso with another spike in the center. The main feature that I loved most about her was her eyes that shone a bright, crystalline ruby. They burned with such passion and determination each time I looked into them.

"Her name was Luna, and she was what made life worth living."

"Hmm, she meant that much to you?"

"It goes beyond words to express how I truly feel about her."

"You still love her?"

"Of course. Even in death I still feel strongly about her."

"Most usually forget their loved ones upon death."

"Heh, I guess I make the exception."

"You seem to think and talk about her more so than you do about yourself."

'Great, we have a mind reader.' "Well, there isn't all that much to talk about myself."

"I beg to differ. Would you care to tell me about the life you lived?"

"I suppose so. It's not like I'm going anywhere."


	2. Chapter 1: The Old Days

**Chapter 1: The Old Days**

I came from a very fortunate family with my mother being a nurse and my father a carpenter. There was no abuse and nothing but love between each other, even with two siblings. My original home was in Driftwood, Arizona. I was about five feet and nine inches in height, pretty fat, short, dark brown hair and eyes to go along with my small mustache that lined my upper lip, and let's not forget my glasses. Normally, I was wearing a plain, dark gray t-shirt with a pair of navy blue jeans and white sneakers. It was around the age of sixteen that I decided to take a swordsmanship class out of pure interest. Along with me were my friends Carrisa, Alejandro, and Kaarina. Alejandro, the leader of our little group, has always wanted to try something together that we all agreed on. He stood about as tall as me, about an inch taller, similar dark brown hair and eyes but he was much more in shape than me. Kaarina, the perkier one, was always looking forward to our get-togethers. She stood about five feet, two inches, had long blonde hair and sea blue eyes. Carrisa, the bold, straightforward one, was ready for a challenge in something she really enjoyed. She was also similar in height to me, had icy blue eyes, and had short lengthen hair that constantly changed color, mainly black. We came upon the school, a large complex, roughly the size of an average mansion, with a ghetto, run-down look to it. As we walked up, the door gave a small creak as a small, burly man stood at the door as if he was expecting us.

"Welcome," he croaked. He either sounded weak or tired, but looked like he could take on the world.

From that day forward, sword training was all that caused time to pass. The click, clack of wood on wood or the clink, clank of metal on metal was all that filled the sounds of the day. After a year of our training, our sensei, Ron, the man we met at first, told us that our practice had to be done outside of the dojo. Carrisa, my best friend, and I used this to our advantage after finding a large clearing in the Raffon Forest just south of the institute. Each day, we met there from dawn to dusk to train our hardest.

Soon after, a year flew by. I was seventeen then with a slimmer body and much more stamina due to the constant training. Each training day became more and more challenging due to our starter year ending. The program for two years was split into two phases, the starter phase and the "real deal". The amount of practice required became much greater and effort had to be given at 200%.

One day, while Carrisa and I were practicing the day away, Carrisa paused.

"Did you hear that?" she asked, stopping our practice completely.

I stopped to listen and heard a faint whimper. "Yeah," I responded, "but where is it coming from?"

"I think it's coming from this way." She rushed out of our training area and into the trees. I tailed behind her until we found the source of the whimpering. A large, canine-like being was sprawled across the ground completely covered in cuts, gashes, and blood.

"Hurry, Alex! Grab its legs and help me bring it to the clearing."

Quick on my feet, I did what Carrisa said. We lifted the strange creature towards our training grounds. After flipping it onto its back, we both gasped in awe at what we saw. This strange being was a Lucario. A freaking Lucario in our world! It was like a dream come true, besides the fact that it was near death. This would be the day I first met Luna.


	3. Chapter 2: New Appearances and a New Era

**Chapter 2: New Appearances and a New Era**

We brought the Lucario to my house, with my parents either asleep or at work, and placed it on my bed.

"Pokémon?" we squealed in unison. We both knew these beings because they were from the famous Pokémon franchise. None of them even existed on our Earth, until now anyways. Carrisa knelt down next to my bed that was currently occupied by this other-worldly being.

"I've always wanted to see a real life Pokémon," she muttered, "but not like this."

"I'm going to go get some towels and bandages for it," I stated. I came back with said items and began cleaning and patching its wounds. Each cut didn't go very far, thankfully, providing minimal blood flow.

"What are we going to do with it?" Carrisa asked.

I pondered the question, looking back at the bipedal canine lying in my bed. "I'll take care of it for now. It may take some convincing to get my parents on board but it'll stay with me."

We both turned to leave the room. As we shuffled, a slight stirring could be heard from behind us. The Lucario seemed to have woken up and was attempting to stand up. Carrisa froze in place, but I ran up to it before collapsed onto me.

"Please don't push yourself," I pleaded, "we found you in the forest nearby pretty banged up so you're probably still weak, so please, just stay put." I didn't really expect it to understand me, which shocked me when it looked up at me and nodded. After placing it back on the bed, it leaned towards me and pulled me into a tight hug.

"Thank you for saving me," were the words I heard from the Lucario in a feminine tone, causing me to believe that she was a female. I returned the gesture, but broke away soon after due to her chest spike. Her stomach growled soon after, and, even through her fur, I saw her face blush into a light pink color.

"I'll go find you some food, so I'll be back in a bit, okay?" She simply nodded again and lied back down. I gestured towards Carrisa indicating that I wanted to talk to her. We stepped out of the room and were now standing in the hallway.

"Can you believe this?!" Carrisa squealed like a playful puppy, "Pokémon actually exist!"

"Yeah," I mumbled. Something about that last encounter made me feel low. "Let's just hope we can find them in a much better state than our new friend."

After our encounter with my new Lucario friend, Pokémon of all kinds began to flood our world. The week after meeting the Lucario, Carrisa befriended a Jolteon, and Kaarina, a Charmander. Alejandro managed to be the luckiest out of all of us and became friends with a Shaymin. We were all getting along with our new friends. Although they can be useful, we knew they could be used for very malicious reasons.

We were gathered up at our favored training ground near the day's end to consider this possibility.

"So, I believe," Alejandro started, "that after we are finished with our two years of training we should travel the world and protect those Pokémon that need it."

"I'm game," I stated. "It'd be nice to find a use for our training."

"Oh my gosh, let's do it!" Kaarina squealed, jumping up and down rapidly, obviously about to burst from excitement.

"It'd be nice to travel the world, especially with our new companions," Carrisa stated. After our little meeting, we all went back to our training since next year was going to be when would start to travel the world.

I returned home to find the Lucario waiting patiently on my bed.

"Hello," I greeted, "are you feeling better today?"

"Much better than before," she replied, but something about the way she said it troubled me.

"Is something wrong?" I questioned.

"It's just... why did you save me when you found me? What did I do to deserve such kindness?" She sounded helpless, yet guilty of something.

"Because," I started, "no living being deserves to die without explaining themselves in some form. Also, it didn't seem like you were the bad one in the situation, considering the fact that you were very grateful of me after you came to."

"What if I attacked you?" she asked frantically. "What if I attempted to harm you in any way?"

"I'm... not so sure," I said hesitantly, "but, luckily, that didn't happen."

She sat there, staring at me with her gem-ruby eyes, which were filled with thanks and guilt.

"I hope you don't mind me asking, but what happened to you?" I asked, "no one randomly gets gashes over their bodies."

I really didn't expect her to answer, most people who are put into these situations usually say it's nothing, or so I have seen in the past. It really threw me off when she decided to be fully open about it. She gave off a loud, sorrowful sigh and started from the very beginning.

"When I hatched as a Riolu, I was in the arms of my mother in a large field. Since the moon looked so majestic at that moment in time, my mother decided to name me Luna. We just sat there as I sank into my mother's arms, her fur as soft as silk that provided a warm sense of security that surged through me. Over the years, I started to explore the meadow I lived in. There weren't many other Pokémon, which made the day seem pretty lonely while my mother searched for berries. But, at night, I would return to a clearing that my mother and I stayed at, and I would snuggle in my mother's arms letting that feeling of security fill my body along with her silk-like touch."

She began to shake and started to sniffle.

"Then, six years after hatching, a trainer came to the meadow. My mother noticed and decided to hide me in a shrub that held the berries she gathered. That didn't help much since after she left, the trainer rushed over to the shrub and found me."

She started to cry heavily after she said that, streams of tears rushing out of her eyes.

"That was the last time I saw my home," she sobbed, "the last time I saw my mom."

I tried to console her by giving her a silent hug being mindful of the spike on her chest. She sobbed loudly into my chest.

"After that trainer caught me, he... he... he put me through so much that suffering is too weak of a word. He would send me out, and, if I lost a battle, he would send out another Pokémon and attack me with it. Even when I fainted, he would beat me and call me weak. He eventually left me to die after losing to a Kirlia."

This caused her to go completely off the edge as she was howling in sorrow. I hugged her tighter, the spike didn't matter. Nothing could compare to the physical and emotional pain she went through.

"I'm so sorry," I whispered.

I was then in tears. Who in their right mind would beat their Pokémon for losing? Not only that, but turn their own team against them? But something still went unanswered.

"If you were mistreated so badly, how did you evolve?" I reluctantly asked. I did not want to upset her any more than she already was.

"That Kirlia and I became quick friends after she saw what happened," she sniffled. At least she was calming down. "We did everything together, we even shared our life stories. After a year or so, we both evolved, me from the amount of friendship that we had and her through battling. Upon evolving, Kirlia, now a Gardevoir, had gained the ability to create portals to other worlds. I never went with her on any of her trips because I was afraid of what I might see."

"One day, that trainer came back, noticed me, and wanted to take me back. I simply refused, but he did not accept that. He sent out his Arcanine and forced him to use a series of slashes and cuts which is why you found me cut up. The Gardevoir then created a portal to your world and pushed me in. The attack had weaken me, but that teleporting must have taken even more out of me because everything went black. I finally woke up to find myself in your bed."

She was still sniffling, and I just sat there, hugging her and listening to her story. We sat in silence for a good half-hour before I spoke.

"Well, I'll make sure that nothing happens to you. I want you to know that I will take care of you no matter what happens. I promise I will be there for you."

With that, Luna returned the hug tightly. She started to cry again, but with tears of joy. From that moment, I knew, from the bottom of my heart, that Luna and I were going to be great friends in this new era.


	4. Chapter 3: Bonding

**Chapter 3: Bonding**

"Well done," I murmured, coughing and panting but still standing. Luna and I were practicing hand-to-hand combat and it was evident that she had a lot more practice than me. She finished off with a Force Palm, causing me to fly back into a tree and creating a sharp pain to course through my body. I grunted as I slowly slid to the ground.

"Oh God, are you ok?" she asked in a worried and frantic tone. She rushed over to me and knelt down to get to my eye level.

"Not really, but that shows that I need more practice," I mumbled. "Regardless, that was good training."

"I didn't mean to put in so much pain. I'm sorry," she whimpered.

"That's fine," I whispered, patting her head for comfort, "I wanted to test my limits."

"I think that's enough training for today," she murmured, obviously still upset for causing me to be in this condition.

"Alright, what should we do?"

"Well, you don't seem to be in any condition to move, so do you want to sit and relax?"

"Sure, but before we start, could you fetch me an ice pack and some bandages?"

She stood up and rushed into the house and back and handed me the supplies. After patching myself up and placing the ice pack on my back, we just sat there and watched the clouds go by.

As we sat there, Luna leaned her head against my shoulder and asked, "So, what's on your mind?"

"Not much," I replied, "just the journey we'll partake in the future and how we need to train for it. What about you?"

"Well, I was just thinking about you and how kind you are. I mean, no one takes a beating and still manages to not be furious or upset about it, not to mention that you saved me from near death, and, through it all, you never asked much of me. Never, at any time, did you yell at me for not being good enough or for doing something wrong. You looked me in the eye and said, 'Hey, there's always next time,' or 'Hey, there's always time to improve'. You have no idea how much this all means to me."

"Well, I'm glad I mean a lot to you," I smiled.

We sat in silence for a good half-hour until Luna spoke.

"Alex?"

"Yeah?"

"Where do you see us in the future?"  
"I'm... not entirely sure," I responded, still in thought about her question, "I do, however, see you becoming a strong Lucario capable of withstanding anything thrown your way."

"What about you?" she asked, somewhat upset, "Where do you see yourself?"

"I don't know," I mumbled, "all I see is just another wanderer exploring the world and helping people along the way."

"If that's what you see," Luna replied, wrapping her arms around me and pulling herself towards me for a hug, "then I want to be there, too."

I then found myself wrapping my arms around her, hugging her back.

"Wherever you go, I want to be with you there," she stated.

"And wherever we go, I want to make sure that you're safe," I replied.

We sat there for another short period of time in each other's arms, not caring about the world at the moment, just us.

"Where do you see us in the future?" I finally asked. I turned to her as she turned to me, her ruby eyes glistening in the twilights of the evening.

"Together," she answered.


	5. Chapter 4: Nightmares

**Chapter 4: Nightmares**

I awoke with a jump, glad to finally be awake.

"Are you ok?" Luna whispered softly, "Your aura projected a lot of fear throughout the night."

"I had a terrible nightmare," I replied as I was sitting up, still shaken up by the images of last night's nightmare. Luna sat up right next to me and wrapped her arms around me.

"Care to share?"

"Well, I was standing in the middle of a field, and, without warning, a large forest fire appeared. Through all of the flames and smoke, I heard screams, familiar ones. I looked to see who was screaming and I froze as I saw you and all of my friends." I started to tear up and sniffle. "I felt so powerless. I felt like I betrayed you and everyone else. I'm so sorry."

With that, I was literally bawling in my hands. I felt like I just went to hell while I was asleep, my worst fear made in a visual aspect.

"It's ok, Alex," she whispered, rocking me back and forth, "I'm still here and so are your friends. You didn't have anything to do with that, so you don't have to be sorry for anything."

I wrapped my arms around Luna, checking to be sure that she actually was there, and to give her a hug of appreciation.

"I'm glad you're still here," I replied.

She started to sing me a part of the song "Safe and Sound" by Taylor Swift, featuring the Civil Wars.

"_Just close your eyes, the sun is going down._

_You'll be alright, no one can hurt you now._

_Come morning light, you and I will be safe and sound."_

Her voice was so angelic, and she seemed like an angel with the light glowing from her body from the sun's rays.

"Thanks," I sniffled, "I needed that."

"You're welcome," she replied, "What do you say we take a break from training for a day and just go out for a stroll?"

"Alright," I sighed. With that, I got dressed and prepared for the day.

Before we walked out of the door, I remembered something.

"Hold on," I said quickly, rushing back to my room. I returned with a medium-sized box. "I made this for you."

Luna reluctantly took the box, opened it, and let out a surprised gasp.

"I know, I'm not great at knitting, but what do you think?" In her paws, she held a long, navy blue, silk scarf with the name 'Luna" stitched in the middle. She stared at it, looked at me, and nearly knocked me over.

"Thank you! I love it!" she squealed with excitement. She wrapped it around her neck and made sure that it wouldn't slide off. "How do I look?" she asked, giving off a faint blush as she twirled around.

I felt my face heat up and managed to say, "As beautiful as ever." She yipped at my compliment and pulled me into another tight squeeze. We finally left to go on our stroll through the forest. Along the way, I saw Carrisa, Alejandro, and Kaarina hanging out in a clearing we used mainly for training. Jolteon, Shaymin, and Charmander, now Charmeleon, were there as well.

"Good morning," I greeted, receiving a unified "Good morning" from everybody else. We sat around a good majority of the time, getting up every now and then to go for a walk. One of the times we were sitting down, I must have fallen asleep because I was in another field and saw the same fire that engulfed all of my friends.

"You could have saved them!" I heard shouting in the back of my mind, "But instead, you betrayed them, let them burn because you were weak, now they suffer because of you!"

"NOOO!" I yelled at the top of my lungs, realizing then I was awake.

"Alex, what happened?" Carrisa asked.

"Are you hurt?" Kaarina questioned worriedly.

"Do you feel ok?" Alejandro asked. "You're sweating up a storm."

"I'm fine," I semi-lied. I was nearly given a heart attack, but I finally realized it was all a dream.

"Oooook, well, we're heading home," Kaarina stated, "We'll see you tomorrow for more training."

"Alright," I sighed, "See you guys tomorrow."

"Later," they all said in unison.

I stood up and made my way to the clearing. That nightmare started to fill me with a form of anger, not at another person, but at myself. I unsheathed my sword. I always take it with me like the others do, but we have them cloaked as to not alarm people. I walked up to a tree, sword in hand, and used that pent up anger to make one, great slash along the tree. After a few seconds, the tree toppled over and fell to the ground with a loud crash. I clenched my sword with a firm grip, feeling a stinging in my eyes.

'I don't want to be weak,' I thought to myself, 'not if it costs my friends their lives.'

"But that won't happen." I spun around, startled by Luna's sudden appearance. I sheathed my sword and faced Luna with a look of despair and regret.

"I don't want to lose you guys," I whispered, looking at the ground and clenching my fists, "especially if I could have done something to prevent it."

"Alex, you need to know that some things are out of your control. Just because you can't control it, it does not make it your fault." She placed her paws on my shoulders. I looked up and stared into her ruby eyes. "I know that you'll be there for us, so I know you will be able to do almost anything."

"It's getting late," I stated, "I think we should head back home."

On the walk home, I asked Luna, "So, do you promise to still be here when I wake up in the morning?" She surprised me by giving me a kiss on the cheek, causing me to blush which made her giggle.

"I promise."


	6. Chapter 5: The Exam

**Chapter 5: The Exam**

Many months passed and I still received nightmares about my loved ones dying around me. Instead of letting them bubble up inside of me, I used these nightmares to fuel me to train harder to become better, faster, and stronger. Upon receiving the nightmare and checking to make sure Luna was asleep, I would head out to the clearing and train until my limbs gave out. This training would not only help me personally, but it would help me prepare for the final exam within the next few days. I had trained so hard that, one day, I actually collapsed from pure exhaustion. I huffed and puffed until I heard a rustling in the bushes. As I prepared myself into a battle stance, I received a telepathic message.

"It's just me," Luna stated. Once she appeared, I relaxed myself and fell to the ground with a loud thud. " Something tells me this has to do with more than just the final tomorrow," she said, "Why don't you tell me what's on your mind?"

"Because I don't want you to worry," I replied, still exhausted from training.

"Not telling me makes me worry more than telling me," she retorted. "Is this still about those nightmares?" I slowly nodded, not able to look up at her. She brought her paw up to my chin and forced me to look up at her. Oh, those ruby-gem eyes, just how they captivated me. "I'm still here, Alex," she spoke softly, "like I promised to you."

"I know but-"

"I can take care of myself. I know you want to protect me, but after all of the training you and I have done, I know we can handle anything we run into."

With that, she brought me into one of her famous hugs. What can I say, we love hugging each other.

"It pains me to see you put yourself through this. Please, stop before you hurt yourself," she sobbed, "I wouldn't be able to live with myself if you worked yourself to death just to protect me. Just think of yourself for once, or at least try for me." She was then in tears, crying into my chest.

"I can try," I finally whispered, "for your sake."

"That kind of defeats the purpose," she giggled through her tears.

After sitting in silence for a few moments, I stood up and continued my training.

"But for now, I need to make sure I am ready for this final exam."

The next day came around, and Luna and I arrived in front of the institute. Since it was still on edge with the arrival Pokémon, Luna had to wait for me outside.

"Hey!" Luna shouted before I entered. I turned around to face her when she gave me a peck on the cheek. "Good luck." I could feel a blush form on my face as I turned around and ran inside. As I arrived to the room of the final exam, Kaarina ran up and caught me by surprise.

"Are you ready?" she happily asked.

"I guess," I sighed. When we walked in, I saw Alejandro and Carrisa sitting down off to the side of the training area. At that moment, Sensei Ron entered which caused all of us to kneel.

"There will be no need for that," he stated. We were all taken aback by his statement. "As you already know, you four are the best in my dojo that I have ever had, so I decided to not require the final exam for you."

We shot puzzled looks at him and at each other. "However," he said quickly, "I do want to see who is the best in the group and see how well you do against each other."

Carrisa looked up. "You mean...?"

"Yes, your final performance will be against each other and we will start with Carrisa and Alejandro." They stared at each other, ready to prove their worth. "Please, come to the center so we may begin." Carrisa and Alejandro stood up and headed for the center of the room. "Unsheathe your blades," Sensei commanded. Carrisa pull out her Zhen, although it came out as a staff with blades on both ends, she quickly detached the blades to make a set of twin swords. Alejandro drew out his Jian, a sword that he forged himself due to the lack of straight swords at the school. "Begin!"

With that, a series of slashes and cuts were made by both Carrisa and Alejandro. The sound of metal on metal was what filled the room as their blades collided. They kept at it until Alejandro attempted to side step Carrisa, only to be kicked to the ground. Upon Alejandro hitting the ground, Carrisa brought both blades to his throat.

"Carrisa is victorious! Up next, Alex and Kaarina." Kaarina and I made our way to the center. "Unsheathe your blades." I unsheathed my ninjatō, a straight, katana-like sword, while Kaarina brought out her scimitar, a curved sword similar to those in the Middle East. We both took our stances. "Begin!"

Kaarina ran towards me, readying the first slash. I stood there, standing my ground, as she brought the blade down. Now! With that, I brought my blade to meet with Kaarina's. I used the moment to move with the fluidity of Kaarina's blade and shuffle off to the side while she was still in flight with her swing. I brought my blade up and started to make stabbing motions, causing Kaarina to back away. After the continuous back and forth of blade on blade, I decided to make my final move. I allowed her to make swings at me, my blade blocking each attack, when I used the momentum of one blow to back up and then force her blade away from her with a great shove from my own and finally using Extreme Speed, which I learned from Luna, and ended up behind Kaarina with my blade near her throat.

"Alex is victorious!" I moved my blade away from Kaarina. We bowed to each other and started to head out of the training area when Sensei called. "Alex, come back. You're in the final battle." I simply returned back to the center. "For the final battle, Carrisa against Alex!" Carrisa stood up and headed for the center. "Unsheathe your blades." We prepared ourselves, already in our stances. "Begin!"

Carrisa and I were soon attacking each other, neither of us giving the other an advantage. The battle was intense. There were times where I had the upper hand that soon turned around in her favor. We kept at it for a while, our blades constantly colliding and our bodies constantly moving. Eventually, Carrisa managed to get the upper hand by using high and low attacks, causing me to back into a corner. She then caused me to deflect one blade while using the other to bring up to my face. She made a small miscalculation and accidentally made a small cut across my cheek, causing blood to ooze out.

"Carrisa is victorious!" After sheathing our blades, we made our way back to Kaarina and Alejandro. "Well, it is clear who is the best in the group." We all stared at Carrisa who simply nodded. "I now can officially say that we will no longer see each other as student and sensei. We will now see each other as equals. Congratulations! You have passed my swordsmanship program!"

We all cheered and decided to celebrate in the clearing. Upon exiting the institute, I spotted Luna, still sitting at the entrance, anxiously waiting.

"So, what happen-" she stopped and examined the cut on my face.

"I'm fine," I reassured, "in fact, I was wondering if you wanted to come celebrate with me and my friends at the clearing in the forest."

"Then that means..."

"Yes, I passed my exam." She squealed with excitement and pulled me into a tight squeeze.

"Congratulations!"

"Thanks," I replied smiling, "Are you ready to go?"

She placed her paw in my hand. "Let's go."

When we arrived, we saw Carrisa and her Jolteon, Kaarina and Dominus (her Charmeleon), and Alejandro and Shaymin. We all unsheathed our blades and raised them into a tipi shape.

"Are you guys ready to travel the world?" Alejandro asked.

"Now more than ever!" I exclaimed.

"I can't wait!" Kaarina yipped.

"Hell yeah!" Carrisa shouted.

"We begin our journey in a few days so that we can get things situated," Alejandro explained, "But, for now, let's celebrate!"

We all cheered, sheathed our blades, and came together for a large, celebratory feast. We were all excited for the adventure that would begin in a few days.


	7. Chapter 6: A Trip Down Memory Lane

**Chapter 6: A Trip Down Memory Lane**

It had been two years since Alejandro, Kaarina, Carrisa, and I joined the swordsmanship institute and almost a year since Pokémon have entered our world. We had decided to make our journey around the world to help others start within a few days, so Luna and I decided to hang around the town we lived near before parting from it for a while. We came to the clearing first.

"I remember like it was just yesterday that we found you here," I told Luna.

"What was it like?" she asked, "finding me here and all."

"Well, it was frightening. One, because you were a Pokémon and, two, you were near death. But, it was also exciting because I was always fascinated by Pokémon."

Luna slipped her paw into my hand. "I'm really glad you found me."

"I am, too," I replied. We stood there, our eyes fixed onto each other's. "I still can't believe it has been a full year since we met." In those two years, I managed to slim down more through all of the daily training that we went through but still had that pudgy mid-section. I always had a clean shave but kept the mustache. Over time, the look of it just grew on me. Now at eighteen years of age, I was ready for our adventure that would take place after the next few days.

We started to head down the road to the little town of Driftwood. It was small, about the size of an atom compared to New York City (then again, what city isn't?), but it covered the essentials, a convenience store, a medical hut, a bank, and a bar. I remember bringing Luna to each one of these places for the first time. As we walked down the main road, Luna began to tear up.

"What's wrong, Luna?" I asked worriedly.

"It's just... I'm going to miss this place when we leave," she whimpered.

"I will, too," I whispered, pulling her close for a hug. She was shaking furiously as she cried on my shoulder.

"This place brings back so many happy memories," she sobbed, "a form of happiness I haven't felt since..." She stopped and howled into my shoulder.

"I'm sorry," I whimpered, "I didn't realize how much this place meant to you."

She looked up at me, her eyes more red than usual from crying. "At least I get to keep the one who made it all happen," she smiled through her tears. We stood there for quite a while, just the two of us in each other's embrace.

Finally, I spoke. "Hey, so before we leave to go home, I want to show you something."

"What is it?" she asked with a hint of excitement.

"Close your eyes and don't let go of my hand," I stated with a smile, "I want it to be a surprise."

Luna pouted then closed her eyes. I led her out of town to the hill nearby. We ran up the hill, me being careful not to let her trip. It was now night, and the moon was barely coming out.

'Perfect,' I thought. The moon was placed perfectly on the opposite side of town. "Ok, you can open your eyes now."

After she opened her eyes, she let out a loud gasp. "So, what do you think of our little town basked in the moon light?"

"It's... It's...," she immediately wrapped her arms around me, "beautiful."

"I thought you'd like it," I smirked. We sat there on the hill for quite a while looking upon Driftwood in the moonlight. Our eyes finally met, but Luna was the first to speak.

"I love you, Alex."

"I love you, too, Luna."


	8. Chapter 7: The Relationship

**Chapter 7: The Relationship**

The next morning seemed entirely different since Luna and I confessed our love for each other. I woke up to the sight of a sleeping Lucario who had a big smile and purred in her sleep.

'She's not feline, but she's purring,' I thought ,'whatever.' She was sleeping considerably well. I decided against getting up, savoring the feeling of her silk-like fur against my arms. Eventually, she woke up and found me staring softly into her eyes.

"Good morning," I whispered, giving her a small peck on her long snout.

We still had a couple more days until the journey officially began, but we didn't mind. We both knew we would spend each day together. With her, I felt as if my life was complete. The thing that mattered most at that moment was that I was with Luna and she was with me. That day, we spent our time with short, peaceful walks and cloud watching. You know, the cliché, romantic, couple stuff. We didn't even have to speak to each other as often, we already knew what the other was thinking.

"I never knew being in love was so amazing," I chuckled.

"I never knew that I would fall in love with a human," Luna giggled.

"Isn't it nice to know that you can surprise yourself?"

The day was pretty uneventful, but spending it with Luna just made it one million times better. Near the end of the day, we came back to our favorite spot, the clearing in the Raffon Forest.

"So," I spoke," are you ready for some training?"

"Are you sure?" she asked in a slightly annoyed tone.

"Well, we are going to be heading to new places in a few days so we might as well be prepa-" I was interrupted by the full force of a Force Palm hitting my chest. I looked up and saw Luna smirk at me because I was not ready. After realizing she was ready after all, I returned the smirk and took up my stance. She ran up to me, readying another Force Palm, when I used Extreme Speed to move out of her reach and used a Force Palm of my own on her back. After recovering, she prepared an aura sphere as I charged after her. Once she released it, I, once again, used Extreme Speed to evade it and brought my hand down in a chop about to strike Luna.

"Well done," she said, knowing that she lost. Soon after, she tackled me to the ground. Once I recovered, still on the ground, Luna pulled me into a heated kiss. We sat there, lips upon lips and eventually broke away for air. Luna lied down right next to me instead of on my chest, and we just sat there, gazing upon the stars.

"The stars sure are beautiful," Luna stated.

"They sure are," I replied, "but not as beautiful as you." This received a cute little giggle and a peck on the cheek from Luna.

"Thank you," she beamed.

"So, do you think you are ready for the journey?"

"With you," she said, placing a paw on my hand, "I'm ready for anything."


	9. Chapter 8: True Potential

**Chapter 8: True Potential**

Luna and I decided to head to town to make some last day arrangements. Also, since it was our last day here, we thought we should visit each place and say our farewells. Before we reached the main street, Luna stopped dead in her tracks.

"What's wrong?" I asked worriedly.

"You said you love, how much do you love me?" she questioned.

I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. I stood there and pondered her question, fearing that whatever I did would not be enough to prove to her how much I did love her. Luna stood next to me and, thankfully, was waiting patiently.

"I'm sorry," I finally spoke, "there is nothing I can say or do at the moment to prove just how much I love you."

"Is that a bad thing?" she whimpered.

"No," I quickly replied, "that just means that my love for you is so great that it is out of my reach to show you."

She squealed in excitement and pulled me in for a grand hug. "Thank you!"

After we walked into town, we made our visits to each store and building. First up was the bank, I needed to make a withdrawal and made sure that the rest of my money was in safe hands. We then headed to the medical hut, received some quick check-ups and thanked the doctor for everything. Next was the convenience store to let the clerk know where we were going and buy some necessities for the trip. Finally, we headed to the bar. Once we were inside, I found the place to be quite full in comparison to the rest of the day. There were a few wooden tables, surrounded with people and evenly spaced out from each other, a marble counter with ten filled stools along one side and all of the glasses and drinks on the other side. Behind the counter, we saw Burt, the bar owner, who was kept busy with the place being packed. He saw us and motioned us to come over to him.

"So," he yelled, trying to be heard over the hustle and bustle, "are you ready for your little adventure."

"Almost," I replied, "just wanted to say farewell and get some drinks."

"Will it be the usual then?"

"Sure, why not?"

In one swift motion, he handed us a few glasses, one with sprite, the other with plain water. I took the sprite and Luna took the water. As we sipped away at our drinks, some jerks in the center of the bar were about to start a fight, but, instead, they just glared angrily at each other.

"That was weak," I whispered to Luna, earning a slight giggle. I did notice, amidst all of the chaos, a shady character sitting in the far corner of the bar. He was a young adult, probably in his early twenties, not muscular, but not noodle-like, wore a dark brown trench coat and a hat that covered his eyes, dark black work pants and black boots. Whether it was his five o' clock shadow sprawled across his face or the way he sat, but something about him gave off an evil feel. Even though I could not see his eyes, I could sense that he was staring at us.

"Is something wrong?" Luna asked, bringing me back to reality. I sat there, taking in everything I saw in that man.

"I'm fine," was all I could muster.

"Well it's getting pretty late and we have a pretty awesome adventure to start tomorrow. Ready to call it a night?"

"Yeah," I replied, "might as well have one last night in a nice, comfy bed at home."

She giggled and held out a paw. I took that paw in my hand and we were on our way out, paying for our drinks before we left. Upon reaching the door to outside, I saw the mysterious man get up and prepare to head out as well. I firmly grasped Luna's paw, left the bar, and went from a slow walk to full, blown sprinting. We managed to get from the town to the forest in an attempt to get out of sight.

"Mind telling me what that was about?" Luna panted.

"That man," I said, still heavily panting, "I think he wanted something from us."

"Well, if he wanted help, why did you run from him?"

"I don't think he wanted help. I think he wanted to hurt us."

"Not necessarily," a mysterious voice stated, startling both of us. It was the mysterious man from earlier. "I just wanted to see if I could get this mutt off your hands."

I glared at him, resisting the urge to cut him there and then. 'How dare he call Luna a mutt?'

"SHE is no mutt!" I shouted, "Her name is Luna, and she is mine."

"Well," the man mumbled, "I didn't want it to come to this." He reached into his coat and pulled out a four-inch blade, easily cloaked by his coat. He aimed it towards Luna which made me chuckle. Luna could take on this idiot. What happened next threw both of us off. He pushed a button on the side, launching the blade causing it to hit Luna straight in the midsection. I stared in disbelief as I saw Luna hit the ground and heard the wind getting knocked out of her.

"Now for y-" Before he could finish and pull out another blade, I used Extreme Speed and uppercut his lower jaw, the rage fueling my speed and strength. Rage does not even cover how furious I was. Anything that kept me that same person I was disappeared. With a faster form of Extreme Speed, I side kicked him in the back. Finally, I came back to his front, brought my hands together, and put all of my energy into knocking him down into the ground.

This all happened in about three seconds, but it provided devastating results. I had successfully broken his jaw, his ribs, and nearly his back. After all was said and done, I rushed over to Luna, almost collapsing from the sheer sight of her so hurt. Luckily, she was still alive but unconscious. I took my sword and cut a portion of my pants to keep the bleeding wound from getting worse. I held her in my arms, dishearten by the fact that I couldn't protect the one I loved from a simple thug. I turned around and saw him attempting to crawl away. After putting Luna down, I stood up and walked over to him, clenching my fists and ready to do the unthinkable. I finally reached him and turned him onto his back with the toe of my sneaker, hearing the wheezing of him attempting to breathe.

"I'm not done with you," I growled. He stared at me, coughing and wheezing in what I thought was an attempt to plead for mercy. I brought my foot up above his face. "See you in Hell," I whispered. With that, I slammed the heel of my sneaker into his face. I felt his skull crack and shatter underneath my shoe, his blood spraying upwards and staining the white color. I stared down and thought briefly on what I just did. I just took a man's life. Hearing this thought over and over again caused me to collapse to my hands and knees. I felt sick to my stomach and vomited, realizing just how devastating the results were. After many moments of recollecting my thoughts, I carefully carried Luna to the medical hut in town.

I rushed into the hut and only told the doctor that she had been attacked and needed medical attention. I nearly shouted at him from the amount of adrenaline that was going through my body. After he acknowledged the situation, he motioned me to wait outside. It took about fifteen minutes until he was finished.

"She'll need a few stitches, but she will be fine," he assured me. I sighed in relief and nearly put my head in my hands when I realized they were soaked in blood.

'I'm so glad he didn't ask,' I thought. After another half-hour passed, Luna was finished with her stay and we started to head home.

"I know that's not just my blood on your hands and shoes," Luna stated. I stared up at her, tearing up at the very sight of her. "What did you do to that man?"

I stared deep into her eyes, looking for any hope and any chance that she still loved me. "I... I took his life."

"What!?"

"When he attacked you and you fell, I was filled with something that went beyond rage and I just... broke." I burst into tears from remembering it all. "I'm so sorry," I sobbed, "I couldn't protect you!" She brought me into a tight hug as I cried into her shoulder. After moments of just being in her embrace, I felt myself gradually calming down from knowing that she was still alive. "Whatever happened, " I sniffled, "I now know my potential."


	10. Chapter 9: Journey's Beginnings

**Chapter 9: Journey's Beginnings**

"We really should have planned this out better," I mumbled. This was the day that Alejandro, Kaarina, Carrisa, and I were starting our lives as wanderers.

"I agree," Kaarina stated, "we should have had a plan on where we would go first."

"Where do you say we go first then?" Carrisa asked, a little annoyed that we haven't started.

"Why don't we all name off places we would like to go?" Alejandro suggested.

"Alright," Kaarina chimed, "I would like to go to Wisconsin. I hear it has beautiful lakes, hills, trees, and waterfalls and I want to see them for myself."

"I for one would like to go to the Grand Canyon," Alejandro stated.

"Fair enough," I shrugged, "What about you Carrisa?"

"Probably the southern tip of South America," she replied. We all gave her a puzzled look.

"Why?"

"Well, since we are traveling the world, might as well visit someplace we can really explore."

"Alright," I announced, "since we have places in mind-"

"What about you, Alex?" Kaarina interrupted, "Where would you like to go?"

I sat there and thought for a few brief moments on the question. "I really don't know."

"Isn't there one place you would really like to explore?" Alejandro asked.

Finally, something popped into my mind. "The world," was my response.

With that, we all agreed on a set plan. We would first head to the Grand Canyon before we left the state of Arizona, set out to Wisconsin, go to the southern tip of South America and then freely roam the earth.

"So, how are we going to get from place to place?" Carrisa asked.

"I was thinking," Alejandro started, "for major leaps, we fly there by plane since we don't have any flying Pokémon. for now, we can walk to the Grand Canyon."

"But, from here, the Grand Canyon is hundreds of miles," Kaarina whined.

"Well," Alejandro sighed, "at least we get to explore our home state."

With that, we set off on our journey. The duos were walking side by side, Alejandro and Shaymin, Carrisa and Jolteon, Kaarina and Dominus, and finally, me and Luna. We were finally going to begin our great journey.


	11. Chapter 10: The Grand Canyon

**Chapter 10: The Grand Canyon**

"Thank God for cars," I sighed. When we were heading out on our journey, we decided to see just how far the Grand Canyon was. Yeah, no one wants to walk two hundred and twenty-two miles in the desert of Arizona during summer. Yes, we agreed that we would explore, but I'd rather miss out on a little adventure than become a melted prune. The drive was no more than three hours, but being in a car for that long gets tiring, especially when it's a continuous drive. We paid for our parking and unloaded our gear. With backpacks strapped to each back, we headed towards the rim of the Canyon.

An audible gasp escaped from everyone's mouth. Along most of the canyon, there were great variations between dusty maroons and sandy browns and yellows, easily complimented by the lush greens along the floor and edges of the canyon. Among the vegetation was the Río Grande flowing along the base of the canyon in white rapids. To top it all off, Pokémon were just teeming throughout, wild and tamed.

"Well," Carrisa spoke, making her descent to the bottom of the canyon, "shall we go?" Soon after, we all headed down to the bottom of the Grand Canyon. There wasn't a lot to talk about, so we walked down the rocky slope in silence, enjoying the view. When we finally reached the bottom, we all went on a little wander among the desert landscape along the river. Many of the Pokémon here were ground types with few rock and bird types and some water types splashing throughout the river.

"To think I lived in Arizona all my life and never witnessed this beauty," Alejandro said gleefully.

I simply sat on a nearby rock while everyone else gleefully played until a pebble hit the back of my head. I turned around and spotted an innocent looking Lucario whistling to herself as she stood there and acted like nothing happened. An evil smirk crossed my face as I stood up and bolted after her.

We continued this game of chase until an irregularly loud splash was heard. We both ran over to find out what happened, only to find the body of a severely injured Surskit being rushed along the river.

'I wasn't expecting one to be out here,' I thought to myself. Regardless, it needed help. I attempted to make my way to it by jumping on the rocks jutting out of the river. Luna did the same and we eventually caught up to the Surskit. Without rationally thinking, I dove in the river and grabbed hold of the Surskit. Luna managed to grab the collar of my shirt to prevent me from being swept away with the current. After much effort, we finally made it out of the white rapids and back to the rest of the group.

"Alejandro, take this Surskit and see what you can do," I panted, "I'm going to find the punk who did this." Before anyone could react, I ran through the desert landscape back to the scene of the crime.

Upon reaching the spot, I noticed a trail of boot prints heading in a direction away from the tourist hotspot. After following this trail, a large boulder came tumbling down the side of the canyon towards me. Dodging it just in time, I spotted a figure, a man dressed in all black and gray like a special operator.

"Onix, use rock slide again! Don't miss this time!" the man barked. More boulders were thrown towards me. I dodged each one and slowly climbed the slope to my opressor. Once I reached his level, he glared at me with pure anger and malevolence.

"Onix, use-" Before he could finish his order, an aura sphere collided with the rock serpent, causing it to fly backwards several feet before crashing to the ground. Luna landed right next to me, readying herself for another fight.

"A Lucario!," the man shouted in amazement, "forget killing you, I think I'll just take this bitch instead!" Like with the mysterious man, I became furious. After returning his Onix, the man sent out an Excadrill. "Try not to kill it!" the man ordered with an evil smirk across his face. As the Excadrill charged us, Luna and I looked at each other, nodded, and prepared oursleves. When it lunged at us, we both side stepped it and used a Force Palm on its back. It wailed in pain and slid across the dirt before shooting a glare at the both of us. It began to claw and tear up the dirt below him.

'He's using dig.' "Luna, track him using your aura sight." Giving a small grunt of acknowledgement, she closed her eyes and sought him out. "While you deal with him," I said as I unsheathed my blade, "I'll deal with this jerk." I made my way to him, only to see him unsheathe a blade of his own, a simple broadsword.

"Prepare to die," he stated. He charged at me with his sword held high. Our blades clashed, and we were soon in an all out battle, metal on metal. His attacks were forceful but lacked accuracy and finesse, making his attacks easy to dodge and counter. It was a little pitiful to call it a battle, more like breaking the new trainees at the institute.

"Time to end this," I stated. With a swift motion, I forced my blade to collide with his as he attempted to block. The force behind it caused his blade to break upon impact. He stumbled backwards but not far enough to escape a slash towards his hand and chest. This caused him to scream in agony and brought him to his knees. To try and stop the bleeding, he crossed his other arm across his chest and gripped his hand. He glared at me with even more hatred and rage than before.

I turned to Luna to find her dodging a series of slashes and cuts. After dodging a high cut, Luna unleashed a full powered Force Palm that threw the Excadrill into the canyon wall, knocking him out cold.

"You think you've won!?" the man spat, "this isn't even the worst of it. You haven't heard the last from me or the Elementals!" With that, he threw out a smoke bomb that quickly filled the area in a thick, gray smoke. After it cleared, the man and his Excadrill were gone. I cleaned the blood off of my blade and turned to Luna.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she stated confidently, "that Excadrill was too easy to beat." After a little chuckle, I stared at the sky and thought about what the man said.

"Well, I know one thing for certain," I said, "there is a group of people that we have to deal with." Luna and I headed back to where the rest of the group was. "Congratulations, guys! Looks like we'll be travelling with more of a purpose than before."


	12. Chapter 11: New Found Enemy

**Chapter 11: New Found Enemy**

It all felt so cliché. I mean, come on, a group of kids traveling the world and running into an evil group, and then they make it their mission to stop them. Yeah, never heard that one before. Anyways, we set up camp right by the river. Everything was so peaceful at the time. Kaarina and Dominus started a little fire, not so much for warmth but more for light. Carrisa and Alejandro finished setting up the tents while Luna and I were fishing for Magikarp. I played a little music that complimented the peaceful tone that was already filling the air. After we caught a few generic fish and Magikarp, we cooked our meal and chatted about our new found enemy.

"So, who are these people exactly?" Alejandro asked.

I shrugged. "At first, I thought he was just some punk, but then he saw Luna. He used some really strong force into trying to take her."

"Not that it was a challenge or anything," Luna snickered, earning a scratching behind the ears.

"Had Luna not arrived, I probably I might not have returned. This guy was pretty hell-bent on taking her though."

"Well, at least there's something to battle on our journey," Carrisa commented.

"This feels like one of those cliché adventures we always read," Kaarina stated.

"If this is one those stories," Alejandro yawned, "I'm ending today's chapter."

After cleaning up our campsite, we all entered our respective tents. As I put down my sleeping bag, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around to see a teary eyed Luna on the verge of breaking down. She quickly embraced and whimpered into my shoulder.

"Hey, what's wrong?" I asked worriedly.

"I was extremely worried about you," she sobbed, "seeing that Onix attack you, I felt how you did when you started having those nightmares. I didn't want you to get hurt, or worse."

"It's terrifying to think what could happen, right?" She nodded, but kept me in her embrace. I slightly pushed her away from the embrace, just enough to be face-to-face with her. "Like you told me, I'm still here." We both stood there and became lost in each other's eyes.

"Is it ok if I sleep with you tonight?" she sniffled.

Giving her a kiss on the forehead, I replied, "Why wouldn't you?" When I finally lied down, Luna crawled up to my side as I wrapped my arms around her.

"Would it be okay if you sang something for me?" she asked sheepishly, "I want to hear your voice as I drift off to sleep."

I happily agreed and cleared my throat to prepare for my song. I began singing the same song that she sang to me when I was scared.

"_I remember tears streaming down your face when I said I'd never let you go_

_When all those shadows almost killed your light._

_I remember you said, 'Don't leave me here alone.'_

_But all that's dead and gone and past tonight._

_Just close your eyes, the sun is going down._

_You'll be alright; no one can hurt you now._

_Come morning light, you and I will be safe and sound."_

She fell asleep soon after. At that moment, I realized that this new group was going to attack us not only physically, but also emotionally. It's already hitting Luna and who knows when they'll strike again. Even with this thought in mind, I drifted off to sleep, taking the words of the song to heart. I knew that I was going to wake up with Luna and everyone still there.


	13. Chapter 12: Fears

**Chapter 12: Fears**

"_Don't be afraid of your fears. They're not there to scare you. They're there to let you know that something is worth it."- C. Joybell C._

We decided to stay in the Grand Canyon for another week just to be sure that these "Elementals" weren't causing any more problems. Alejandro became quick friends with the Surskit that we found earlier after healing him, and he soon became a part of his team. I made a quick trip to the Pokémon Center at the tourist section. Yeah, Pokémon have been with us for a year and there are already Centers almost everywhere. I bought three luxury balls because I figured that if I'm going to be traveling and encountering new people, I might as make sure that Luna is with me. I returned and showed her one of the balls. She shrieked and swatted it out of my hand.

"Please calm down," I said calmly, expecting the reaction.

"I hate those things, I told you that!" she shouted, still shooken up at the contraption's sight.

"I know. I don't want to do this either," I rebuked, dusting the ball, "but I want to make sure that no punk tries to take you. I'm doing this for your sake."

She started to calm down, relaxing each tense muscle in her body. "O-okay."

"I promise to release you as soon as the capture is finished, and I will only use it when I absolutely have to." I pressed the button on the ball to enlarge it then pressed it again to capture Luna. After she disappeared in a flash of red, the ball shook and chimed a capture. When all was said and done, I released Luna and was knocked onto my bottom.

"I'm really sorry about that, but I promised that I wouldn't let anyone hurt or take you." Petting her head gently, we sat there on the desert ground. Luckily, it was in the later part of the day, so the ground wasn't scorching hot.

"What are the other balls for?" Luna asked, "Am I not enough for you?"

"Aww," I teased, "is someone protective of me?"

"Yes," she growled, "I thought you said you loved me."

"I do love you," I responded, kissing her on the top of her head, "I just thought that we could use some extra help. Plus you could make some pretty cool friends."

"Yeah, I suppose so."

"So, does that mean I can catch more Pokémon?"

"Yes," she growled, "but if they try and take you away from me, there will be blood."

I chuckled at her response as we both sat there in each other's embrace. Sitting there in silence, though, was dreadful because my mind starts to wander. When it aimlessly wanders, it starts to come up with scenarios that I would love to avoid, striking fear into my heart.

"Alex, what's wrong?" Luna's soothing feminine voice brought me back to reality, "Your aura is emanating fear."

"The same thing that started with the nightmares I had," I mumbled.

"Hmm, I didn't know I fell in love with a broken record," she snickered.

"Well, geez, I'm sorry that I care too much."

She giggled and jammed her lips against mine, ending all doubt and fear in my mind. "Better?"

"Better."

"I know you all too well, Alex. These things shouldn't be bothering you, yet you're always worrying. You saw me in my last fight, I can handle myself. Besides, I know that you are going to make it your mission to help me when I need it, and, based on what I've seen, you will do anything to accomplish your mission." Hearing all of this from her just made my heart flutter.

"Thank you," I mumbled.

"Now," Luna held out her paw, "let's head back to the tent."

As we headed back, I began to reflect on what Luna just told me. I still had some fear in my heart, but I decided to look at it in a new light. This fear showed me that there is something that I have in my life that is worth fighting for.


	14. Chapter 13: Flight

**Chapter 13: Flight**

The week in the Grand Canyon went by fairly quickly. There were no signs of the Elementals after that initial encounter, so we felt it was safe to leave.

"So, who's ready for Wisconsin?" I asked, receiving an excited shriek from Kaarina.

"Oh my gosh, I can't wait!" she yipped, jumping up and down in the process. Dominus seemed equally excited and ran full circles around Kaarina.

"Char!" he cried, swishing his tail back and forth. The little Charmeleon looked like he was ready to burst at any moment.

"Seems like those two are," Alejandro snickered, "Shaymin is looking forward to seeing some lush green." The little Shaymin responded in a small cry and continued to lay in Alejandro's lap.

"I'm just excited to leave Arizona," Carrisa stated, "I've always hated the heat here."

"Alright then. Let's head to the nearest airport and get going," I announced.

"Wait!" Carrisa shouted, stopping me in my tracks, "If we go to an airport, won't they have metal detectors that will sense our weapons?"

I pulled out my phone and dialed away. "Who said we were going to take a commercial airline?" I smirked. Hitting call, I put the phone to my ear and heard a ringing.

"Hello?" the person on the other line responded.

"Hey Christian, it's Alex."

"Hey Alex, what's up?"

"Not much. Listen, I want to cash in that huge favor you owe me."

"Oh? What do you need?"

Roughly two hours later, we arrived at the Sedona Air Terminal, but instead of passing though civilian checkpoints, we drove to another section. There we found a hanger with a private jet and a teenager. After approaching, the teen walked up to me and extended his hand for a handshake. I returned the gesture to my long time friend.

"Alex, it feels like it's been ages!" he exclaimed, "It's nice to finally meet your friend." He nodded towards Luna who let out a soft smile in response.

"Thanks Christian. I really appreciate what you are doing here."

"Well, I did owe you. Besides, you should thank my dad. He's the one who managed to arrange this."

"Do me a favor and pass along the message."

He nodded and led us to the stairs that allowed us to enter the jet.

"He did want a few things though," Christian explained, "He wants you to make sure you take care of the pilot and bring this jet back in one piece."

"That I can do," I smiled.

After our little conversation, we all piled in and prepared for our flight to Wisconsin. As we situated ourselves, I started to think about what was about to happen. I was about to make a transition from my home state that I rarely left to Wisconsin which was almost across the country. I felt a paw land on my shaking hand as Luna stared at me with her ruby eyes that had such a calming effect.

"It's okay," she said, "I'll miss Arizona, too."

After everyone was seated, the turbines roared to life, and we all jolted as the jet started to move from the hangar to the open runway. The pilot received the all clear and soon enough, the jet was soaring through the cloudless sky.

"Look out world," I whispered, "we're on our way."


	15. Chapter 14: Green Wisconsin

**Chapter 14: Green Wisconsin**

We arrived at the airport at Janesville. Upon landing, Kaarina and Dominus rushed out of the jet.

"Hurry up guys!" Kaarina shouted with anticipation, "I want to get to the forest already!"

Soon after, everyone got off of the jet except for me. I went to go see the pilot.

"Thank you so much, sir," I said to show gratitude.

"Anytime, kid," he replied, "just call me whenever you require my services." After handing me a slip of paper, he tilted his cap and prepared to find a spot to store the jet. I exited and rushed to find the others waiting for me.

"All set," Luna asked.

"Let's head out," I smiled.

We came to the front of the airport where we called for a shuttle. After we crammed ourselves in, the driver asked, "Where to?"

Before anyone could react, I said, "To the Kettle Moraine State Forest." Everyone shot me a questioning look. "Don't worry," I reassured with a smirk, "you'll love it." The drive itself took no more than an hour.

"Alright, the total is-" I handed him a stack of hundred dollar bills.

"Thanks," I said as we all rushed out of the vehicle.

"Alex, how did you get that money?" Alejandro questioned.

"Working for as a busboy for the bar back home and not spending a dime provides a lot of money," I replied simply. After speaking to the park rangers, we found a spot for our temporary campsite.

"Damn, Kaarina. You weren't kidding when you said Wisconsin was very green." She simply giggled with delight. After camp was set, we all went for a walk through the forest.

The scenery was so amazing. Everywhere you looked there were lush green bushes with healthy growing trees that held bright green leaves that easily complimented the fresh grass beneath them. It was mainly beautiful to us since we are all from Arizona and this amount of fresh vegetation was rare to find.

"It's so beautiful!" Luna cried with glee. Alejandro let Shaymin run about, happy to see him playing in his natural habitat. Carrisa and Jolteon were running around and playing without a care in the world. Kaarina and Dominus skipped through the forest, being careful not to set anything on fire. Luna and I were walking slowly through the forest, taking in all of its natural beauty. As we walked, Luna had her paw in my hand which gave me a great sense of security.

"It's beautiful and all, but it's nowhere near as beautiful as you," I stated. Luna giggled and gave me a quick peck on the cheek. After that nice walk, we came back to the campsite. Kaarina had Dominus set up another fire, thankfully, since it gets pretty cold in the forest, especially up north. We had some small chat between each other and, as night fell, we all went to bed. Luna lied down next to me as usual.

"I love you, Alex."

"I love you, too, Luna."

As we cuddled, we both fell into a deep sleep, although I couldn't help but feel as if we were being watched.


	16. Chapter 15: Grass and Air

**Chapter 15: Grass and Air**

I woke up slowly, feeling groggy and tired. Luna lied right next to me, still in a deep sleep. I gave her a quick kiss on the snout, causing her to smile in her sleep, then I proceeded to get up. As I was getting up, I sensed that something or someone was near. Spending a lot of time with a Pokémon that can sense aura creates an interest in you to learn how to do it yourself, so, over time, I gained a short-ranged, weak aura sight through lots of practice. I used this and found two beings outside. They kept their distance, but something about their aura felt really off.

"Luna," I whispered, shaking her gently.

"Give me like five more minutes," she whimpered.

"Wake up," I whispered again, only with more volume and annoyance behind it.

"Okay," she groaned, waking from her slumber. "What's up?"

"There are two auras outside that seem really off. Could you check it out?"

With an annoyed huff, she closed her eyes and let her aura sensors do their work. After a few seconds, her eyes shot open and looked right at me.

"Duck!" she shouted. Upon hearing the command, we were both on the ground. I heard something whiz over us that tore through the tent like tissue.

"What's going on!?"

"Those auras that you saw were a man and his Pokémon sent to kill us," Luna explained.

"This is not how I wanted to start my morning," I groaned. I looked out of the newly formed tear in the tent to find a leaf wedged into the side of a nearby tree. 'Razor leaf.' "Go wake everyone up, I'll deal with the man."

Luna gave an affirmative nod and dashed to the others. I stepped out of my tent, only to be greeted with another razor leaf. Using Extreme Speed, I quickly unsheathed my sword and cut the leaf in half, causing it to disperse into two different paths.

"So, this is the punk that slashed at my brother!?" the man laughed, "Shouldn't you be at home on the couch like the fat lard you are!?" He stood about six feet, five inches, had a dark green, camouflaged flannel with dirt brown cargo pants and boots, short, close-to-black, brown hair and a dark tan along with pasty white tan lines along his upper arms and legs.

"I would, but that would prevent me from making assholes like you get what you deserve," I responded.

"Whatever, Grotle use-"

"Dominus, use Fire Fang!"

Dominus rushed over, fire lining his jaw, and bit down on the Grotle, hard. The Grotle gave a loud, blood curdling scream before shaking Dominus off.

"About time you guys showed up," I said, smirking.

"I wouldn't want to miss out on seeing the results of our training," Kaarina chuckled.

The man growled. "Grotle, use leaf storm!"

"Shaymin, use Protect!" Alejandro commanded. Usually, Protect only works on the user, but I guess Alejandro had modified it because a large protective bubble surrounded us and prevented the leaf storm attack from having any effect.

"Kaarina, make sure you watch your attacks with Dominus. There are a lot of flammable objects here," I stated.

Kaarina nodded. "Dominus, use Slash!" With one fluid motion, the Charmeleon slashed at the Grotle, causing it to shriek before the force of the attack knocked him into a nearby tree. That and the fire fang from earlier caused enough damage to make the Grotle faint.

"You're gonna pay for that when my sister gets here!" the man threatened.

"That's pretty sad," I taunted, "You have to rely on your sister to-" Something whizzed past us and collided with a tree closest to us. Whatever it was, it made a clean cut through the tree, causing it to topple.

"Move!" Carrisa cried out, tackling Alejandro in the process. Kaarina and I dashed in the opposite direction. After the tree crashed to the ground, it created a division in our group. Carrisa and Alejandro were on one side while Kaarina and I were on the other.

"I'm not too late, am I?" a voice called from above. When we looked up, we saw a woman with long, flowing, blonde hair wearing short, white pants that covered her leg just above her knee, a plain beige vest and white sneakers. She was riding on the back of a Staraptor.

"About damn time you showed up!" the man shouted.

"Well _excuse_ me for making an entrance," she retorted, "Besides, you need my help now more than ever." She glanced over towards me and gave me an evil smirk that just screamed, 'You're so dead.' "Staraptor, use Air Slash!" Without hesitation, the Staraptor unleashed a blade of pure air that launched itself towards Kaarina and me. I tackled Kaarina in an attempt to get her out of the path of the attack, leaving behind a large pile of dirt that flew into the air from the air slash. After recovering, I took a good look at my surroundings. On our side, there was open space along with Kaarina and the woman on her Staraptor. On the other side, I saw Carrisa and Alejandro preparing for battle with the man from earlier, only this time, he had a Sawsbuck accompanying him. The Sawsbuck was in its summer form, the antlers in forms of lush green bushes and its body in the typical antelope shape.

"Keep barraging them with Air Slashes!" the woman commanded. Kaarina and I soon stood up and ran to keep ourselves from getting hit by the rain of attacks. Eventually, Dominus and Luna caught up with us as prepared to fight back.

"Dominus use Flamethrower!"

"Luna, use Aura Sphere!"

Upon command, Dominus let loose a stream of flames and Luna released a ball of pure energy towards the Staraptor. The Staraptor dodged the flames but was hit by the Aura Sphere, knocking the woman of in the process. When she recovered from her drastic spill, her expression went from an evil, playful smile to one of searing rage.

"YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT YOU PRICK!" she screamed, her Staraptor regaining from the attack. She reached for her sides and unsheathed two short blades. They were too short to be called swords but too long to be considered daggers. Each blade appeared to be in the shape of a curved wing. After this reveal, she dashed towards me with a loud battle cry.

"Luna, keep up your efforts on the Staraptor," I commanded, keeping my focus on the enraged woman, "I'll deal with her."

She eventually came into range and started to slash at me with all of her might. Dodging each one, I started to back myself into a tree, waiting for any small slip up. Upon reaching the tree, the woman gave a sadistic smile as she attempted to stab me. I twisted my body in order to dodge the blade, causing it to become stuck in the tree, and used the same motion to perform an open-Palmed uppercut. The blow caused her to stumble backwards and, eventually, fall to the ground. I looked up and saw that, apparently, the woman had a Fearow along with her Staraptor that Luna and Dominus were dealing with.

'Where's Kaarina?' I was brought back to reality when the woman slashed at me with her other blade. I barely dodged and stumbled due to the surprise attack.

"You should never let your guard down," she chuckled. I heard a rustling above me and let out a small chuckle of my own. "What's so funny!?"

"You're right," I smirked, "you shouldn't let your guard down."

Kaarina swooped down from above me and lashed at the woman with her scimitar. The woman stumbled backwards again but froze as blood trickled down her cheek. Kaarina managed to successfully create a large cut across the woman's cheek. We took our strength in numbers and went on the offensive. This time, we caused her to back up, directing her to the spot we initially met where our Pokémon were battling it out.

"We need to end this soon," I told Kaarina. "We could end this now if we get you to Alejandro and Carrisa over here."

"I have an idea," Kaarina grunted, glancing over towards Carrisa. "Carrisa!" she called out, "Let's brighten things up!" Carrisa nodded in response.

"Dominus!"

"Jolteon!"

"Use Flash!" they commanded in unison.

There was sudden burst of light that blinded me. The effect of both Pokémon using flash was equivalent to that of a flash bang grenade. Still blinded by the light, I felt something jump off of my shoulder and the presence of another landing next to me. I heard Carrisa and Kaarina command their Pokémon to use their respective moves.

"Use Flamethrower!"

"Use Thunderbolt!"

The sounds of fainting Pokémon filled the air after the commands were given. I, finally, regained my sight and took a look around. Carrisa was standing next to me with Jolteon by her side. Kaarina was over with Alejandro who was pinning the man to the ground with Shaymin and Dominus. I also saw Luna holding the woman down with the fainted bird Pokémon beside her.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Kaarina and I were practicing a move that would be handy for escaping or gaining an advantage and we decided that now was the time to test it," Carrisa explained. "We used you and Alejandro to leap over the fallen tree."

I looked over to Kaarina before shouting, "Nice to know I am just a step stool for you!" She simply giggled and shrugged. I knelt down and looked upon the woman that was attempting to break free from Luna's grasp. "Who are you?"

"We're members of the Elementals. We were sent here to kill you after your encounter with our brother," she grunted. I was shocked to actually get information from her without resistance. "I am the Air Elemental. My poor excuse for a brother over there is the Grass Elemental and the guy you met at the Grand Canyon is the Ground Elemental."

"Well, at least we have something to call you," Carrisa scoffed.

"Now it's just a matter of what to do with you," I stated.

"You may defeat us now, but mark my words. This isn't the last you have heard of me or the Elementals!" the Air Elemental shouted.

"Your brother said that, too," I said, "It's nice to see that he went through on his word." Upon further inspection, I noticed that she had three poké balls attached to her belt. "You had three Pokémon at your disposal but only used two," I pointed out, "Why?"

"Because, the third one is a weak, worthless, piece of shit."

Kaarina heard this and briskly made her way over to us. "How dare you say that about a Pokémon!?" she shouted. "Each Pokémon has its own potential and judging by the fact that we just kicked your ass in that last battle, it is not the Pokémon itself, but the horrible trainer it takes orders from!" I actually became quite scared. Kaarina rarely curses, but when she does, she's beyond pissed.

"Fine," the woman growled, "If you think you're a better trainer than me, why don't you take him!?"

"Fine, I will." Kaarina yanked the poké ball from the side of the Air Elemental.

"I think we're done here," I announced. "Luna, release her." Luna, reluctantly, released her grip on the woman, allowing her to stand. "Now, you go and tell your 'family' that we are not taking any of your shit. Whatever your plan is, back off, or else you will have us to deal with again," I threatened. Soon after, the Elementals recalled their Pokémon and left. Everyone, even Luna, gave me a puzzled look.

"You're really just going to let them go?" Carrisa questioned.

"What if they attack us later on?" Alejandro asked frantically.

"Calm down guys," I sighed, "they can't be stupid enough to attempt another attack. Besides, they have a message to deliver."

"You aren't afraid they'll bring their whole family down upon us?" Kaarina asked.

"No, because we have each other. Training never hurts, but we are still here to support each other. For example, that Flash attack, that is definitely a useful tactic, and if we use more teamwork, we'll be able to overcome whatever these 'Elementals' throw at us."

"This is all so cheesy," Alejandro chuckled, "but it's true."

"So, care to introduce us to your new friend, Kaarina?"

"Oh, right." Kaarina threw the new poké ball into the air. From the poké ball came a Pidgey, frightened as hell. It kept its distance from us, but did not attempt to fly off. "It's ok. We're here to help you." She reached out to touch him, but he covered himself and tensed up, preparing himself for a hit. As Kaarina slowly petted him, the Pidgey soon began to relax. "If you're going to travel with us, I should probably name you. How does Eskall sound?" He chirped with glee, happily accepting the new name.

"Alright, I believe we need to repair a few things around camp and then we can rest," I announced.

It took several hours to cut the fallen tree into usable fire wood and another half-hour to stitch the tent together. As night fell, everyone headed off to bed except for me. I decided that I needed to clear my head for a final time before ending the day. My mind was flooded with fear, doubt, and guilt from my actions from not only today, but also the day I took that first man's life. I eventually came upon a clearing that allowed the moonlight to shine through onto the forest ground. I stood there, thinking about all I had done. At the same time, I had a strange feeling that someone was following me. 'What am I talking about? I knew someone was following me since I left camp.'

"Come on out. I know you've been following me the whole time." I heard the bushes rustle before I looked at the figure that appeared. "What are you doing here?"


	17. Chapter 16: Even A Raven Cares

**Chapter 16: Even A Raven Cares**

"I could ask you the same thing," Luna stated as she appeared out of the bushes. "Why aren't you at camp?"

"I... I couldn't sleep," I muttered, "too much is on my mind."

"Well, why don't you and I go for a walk and... talk about it," she winked.

Something seemed really off about her. The way she carried herself and how mischievous she sounded right now did not fell like it was her. I looked up at her and stared her into her eyes, looking for an answer.

"Who are you?" All emotion I had left my face as I waited for a response.

"What do you mean? It's me, Luna."

"No you're not Luna. The Luna I know has crystalline, ruby eyes. You, whoever you are, have bright, cyan eyes." At this point, the fake Luna slowly started to back away from me. "Unless you strike me first, I won't hurt you. Just tell me who you are."

She was still frightened but sighed in defeat. In a strange red and purple glow, the being that stood before me transformed from its Lucario form into a large, black, gray and maroon, bipedal fox with long hair that flowed behind it and was held by a light blue bead. At the ends of each of her arms and legs were three, crimson claws. "Wow," was all I could muster in my surprised and stunned state. This impersonator was, in fact, a Zoroark.

"You don't seem angry," she said, breaking the trance I was under.

"Why would I?" I asked stupidly.

"Well, I just impersonated someone you deeply care about and tried to manipulate you. Most people don't take that likely."

"I'm sure you had your reasons. Besides, it's not every day that you get a visit from one of the most exotic Pokémon in the world." Even under all of that fur, I could see her blush at the compliment. "I know this might kill the mood, but why are you following me?"

Her eyes shot open, and she suddenly became nervous. "Well... I... uh... I... was really interested in you after your little quarrel with those people, and I just kept an eye on you."

"Ah, ok."

She started twiddling with her claws, obviously nervous about something.

"Is something wrong?" I asked. I personally hate when people are nervous, especially around me. I aim to help people, not scare people, and she looked as if she needed help.

"Well... I was wondering..." She sighed and said quickly, "IwaswonderingifIcouldtravelwithyou!"

I was shocked. Not only did I meet a very rare and exotic Pokémon, but she's actually asking if she can travel with us. With soft smile, I replied. "I would love for you to travel with us."

It was her turn to have a shocked expression. She bowed and muttered a thank you.

'For a wild Pokémon, she sure is well mannered.' "Well, if you're going to travel with us, I might as well introduce you to the rest of the group, but that can wait." I gave out a loud yawn. "I'm going to bed."

I motioned my new friend to follow me. As we walked back to camp, I noticed that she still kept her distance and avoided eye contact.

'Something is still bothering her and I need to find out, soon.'

We finally reached camp after a good half-hour of silence. I walked up to my tent when Luna suddenly jumped out of the tent and lunged at the Zoroark. As she attempted to unleash a Force Palm attack, I stepped in front of her and grabbed her paw, stopping her dead in her tracks.

"Calm down," I grunted, "she's not going to hurt us." She gave an angry growl before loosening up her tense, attacking form. Releasing my grip, I turned towards the Zoroark, who was in a defensive stance. She, too, loosened up as I prepared for introductions. I cleared my throat before speaking. "Ok, now that we've calm down, this," I gestured towards Luna, "is Luna. Luna this," I gestured towards the Zoroark, "is our new friend whom I have yet to ask if she has a name."

"Raven," she snarled, "my name is Raven."

"Ok. Raven, Luna, can we try not to kill each other? It's late, we've all had a long day, and I don't want to end it badly." Both Pokémon looked at each other and reluctantly nodded in agreement. "Thank you."

"Alex, can I speak to you for a moment?" Luna growled, giving me a death glare. We both headed into the tent for our private conversation. "What the hell are you thinking!?"

"Listen, I was out thinking long and hard about the events that happened today, so I went for a walk. She showed up, asked if she could join us, and I said yes."

"How do I know that you're not lying? How do I know that you weren't doing 'things' with her!?"

I grabbed both of her paws and stared deeply into her eyes. "Look, it's painfully obvious that you don't like Raven, but I would never, EVER love another female besides you, Luna. I love you, and I would never do anything to betray that love." She loosened up after I explained this, but she was still tense. "Raven and I didn't do anything. She just came and asked if she could join us."

"Okay, okay. I'm just really protective of you right now because there's another female coming with us. Her aura is also really off and it can put you in danger."

"Yeah, she seemed really nervous about something, but, please, try not to fight with her. It'd be nice to have an addition to the team, and, besides, you can have a friend you may relate to."

Luna sighed in defeat. "Fine, but if she starts making any moves on you, or you start making moves on her, she is out."

"Deal."

The next morning, I introduced Raven to everyone. She attempted to avoid attention by hiding either behind me or avoiding eye contact. After exchanging introductions, we spent the day relaxing and taking small strolls through the woods. Raven distanced herself from us even when I attempted to make her feel welcome. Even when we ate, she would always eat alone, and I swear I could hear sniffling.

After a few days of these occurrences, I decided to confront her about them. It was late at night and everyone was in their tents.

"We need to talk," I told Raven. We exited the tent and went back to the clearing we first met at. "Okay, I was really trying to avoid this, but something is obviously bothering you. Please, tell me what's wrong. I want to make you feel as welcome as possible."

That's when Raven started to sniffle. "I know. I know that you've wanted to make me feel welcome. All you've done is show me love and care over these past few days and I haven't done a damn thing!" She started to cry her eyes out. "I'm so sorry, Alex! I'm so, so sorry!"

"Why? You haven't done anything wrong."

"No, but I'm supposed to."

I froze in place when I heard this. "What do you mean?"

With a shaky sigh, Raven prepared to explain herself. "I'm supposed to capture or kill you." My jaw dropped open when I heard this, but she continued on. "You see, those people you fought took my child. For his safe return, I was supposed to capture or kill you." I clenched my fists together from the anger that was filling me, my knuckles becoming white. "You have to understand. They took my child!" she cried, obviously seeing how angry I was becoming.

"I'm not mad at you," I reassured as best as I could. "I'm mad at the fact that someone is low enough to threaten an innocent Pokémon and her child."

"I'm so sorry, Alex. That's why I've been so distant, because I knew that the more I became attached to you the harder it would be to get my son back."

She was now a fully broken down Zoroark, bawling like a baby. I couldn't stand seeing or letting this all happen, so I made, possibly, one of the stupidest decisions of my life.

"I think it's time to get your son back," I said softly to the bawling Pokémon.

"How? How are we going to get him back!?"

"You're going to capture me."

Her eyes went wide, and she held a shocked expression. "No, I can't," she retorted through her tears.

"I want you to be able to see your son again. If capturing me is the only way to get him back, well then, let's get this over with."

"No, I can't!" she cried, shaking her head violently. "I'm not going to ruin your life because of my burdens."

"Well, that's one of the downsides of wanting to help people in need. I am willing to take that risk to reunite you with your son." After this cheesy speech, I was tackled to the ground and nuzzled deeply by Raven.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"You're welcome," I grunted. "But I need you to explain this to everyone else. I know you won't like doing this, but I only plan on being there for the exchange for your son."

She drew in a deep and shaky breath, still clinging to me. "Ok."


	18. Chapter 17: Close Call

**Chapter 17: Close Call**

The next day, Raven told everyone everything. The Elementals, her child, the truth, everything. Everyone listened with shocked expressions. I was afraid they would yell, scream, shout, or claw at her, but nothing happened. They just sat there and listened. After Raven explained herself, there was a long period of awkward silence. Luna was the first to break it.

"So, I guess you have a plan?"

"Yeah," I sighed, arms folded against my chest, "but you're not going to like it." Everyone sat up attentively after that final comment. I took a deep breath before explaining myself. "I'm going to give myself up to the Elementals."

Mouths flung open and eyes went wide after that statement.

"Why!?" Kaarina asked frantically.

"Char, Char!" Dominus cried.

"In all reality, it's the only way for Raven to get her son back. Besides, I don't think killing myself is really going to help."

"What if you're doing just that by turning yourself in?" Alejandro questioned with Shaymin nestled in his lap. I sat there and pondered over this idea, only to be interrupted by Carrisa.

"And who's to say that they are actually going to go through on their word with this exchange?" Jolteon pawed at my feet. It was his way of saying that he doesn't want me to go.

Luna placed a paw on my shoulder. "Alex, I know that you really want to help Raven, but at the cost of your life?"

"I'm willing to do whatever it takes to bring Raven and her son back together, but that's not the only part of the plan." Luna shot me a puzzled look before I continued. I turned towards Carrisa, Alejandro, and Kaarina. "Do you guys remember our projectile training?"

"Yes," they replied in unison.

"Well," I said, tossing a bag onto the ground, "I think it's time we put that training to use." They all scrambled towards the bag, inspecting the contents within once they reached it.

"Wow!"

"Where did you get these?" Carrisa asked.

"Sensei Ron. He gave them to me when I told him about our journey."

"How will this help with your plan?"

"Isn't it obvious? We're going to set up an ambush."

"Do you know how risky this is?" Raven whispered.

"Yes, I do," I replied, "which is why I am willing to do it."

With my wrists bound together with a rope and all of my gear with Luna, Raven and I made our way to the trade-off location.

"I never asked, why are you helping me?" Raven questioned.

I shrugged and smiled. "I'm a sucker for helping others."

After an hour of walking through the dark forest, we reached another small clearing with a few tents scattered here and there.

"There's no turning back now," raven commented before emitting a loud howl. Shuffling could be heard in each tent as people scrambled to their feet to find the source of the howl. There were eight tents and out of each came a human followed by a Pokémon. Each human was accompanied by the same Pokémon, a Raticate, and wore generic, gray soldier uniforms, except for two. These two were very distinct from the group. One was a man, around six feet, four inches in height in what looked like a one piece, ocean blue outfit similar to that of a wetsuit. His skin was a sun-kissed brown, and he had short, dirty blond hair. His Pokémon, a Prinplup, stood by his side. The other person was a woman, about five feet, nine inches in height with a bright yellow, camouflaged get-up similar to a soldier's uniform. She had pasty white skin and a shaved head that would grow light brown hair. Her Pokémon that stood by her side was an Ampharos.

"I'm surprised you actually caught him," the man stated. "Bring him out." At his command, one of the other six soldiers brought a small cage large enough to hold a small animal. "Now," the man spoke to Raven, waving the cage around like a piece of meat in front of a starving animal, "hand him over and you get your child back." She nodded and pushed me forward, almost causing me to fall due to a loss in balance.

"As promised," the woman said, opening the small cage, revealing a frightened Zorua. It shot out of the cage and rushed to its mother. "Enjoy your reunion somewhere else. We have business to attend to that the young one might not want to see."

Upon hearing this, Raven scooped up her child and disappeared into the forest. The man stepped forward and looked me in the eyes. His eyes were a venomous green that glared deeply into my soul. Without warning, he right hooked the side of my face, causing me to fall to my knees. He proceeded to beat me two more times, giving a brief pause between hits.

"I should kill you for the trouble you've created for my siblings," he spat. My only response was heavy panting and a spit of blood. Let me tell you, those punches were like stones to the side of the face. The man walked back to the woman and one of the other grunts took his place. He took out a large combat knife and waved it in my face.

"Cut his throat, the last sound I want to hear from him is the sound of blood gushing out."

As the grunt placed the knife against my throat, I saw a kunai knife attached to a chain fly through the bushes. It managed to pierce the grunt's skin with ease and caused him to be dragged into the bushes as the chain was recalled. He could not be soon, only heard as he screamed in agony and was suddenly silenced by this mysterious force.

"What just happe-" The man was interrupted by two arrows that shot from the trees and homed in on two other grunts. One was struck in the eye and fell to the ground as the arrow pierced his brain while the other one was struck in the neck. He clutched at the arrow before collapsing as well. The man and woman quickly moved from their spot as they saw their men die.

"Prinplup, use Hydro Pump to flood them out!"

"Ampharos, use Zap Cannon!"

Upon command, the Pokémon attacked the trees and the bushes, only to be left with the scorched and waterlogged ruins of what used to be part of the forest.

"What!? How could they have gotten away!?" the man shouted in disbelief. As he sat there dumbfounded, another kunai knife flew through the air.

"Duck!" the woman shouted, tackling the man in the process. The kunai missed the two, but they were never its intended target. With it heading straight for me, I side-stepped the knife and snatched it out of the air. With blade in hand, I cut away at the rope binding my wrists together and prepared myself for a fight. One of the remaining grunts noticed this and unsheathed something similar to that of a metal baton. Upon further inspection, I noticed that the baton would spark with electricity every now and then. This weapon was a stun baton. He gave an evil smirk before he started to swing at me. I dodged each swing and thrust until he shoved the baton to my left. As I dodged his attack, I grabbed his arm and open-palmed his elbow, causing it to bend in an inhuman way. The grunt cried out in pain at this action, and I took this moment of weakness to stab him in the side with the knife and forced him to the ground. The Raticate that was with him lunged at me with his jaws wide open for a large Crunch attack. Before it could reach me, it was launched into the distance by an Aura Sphere. I looked to my right and smirked as I saw Luna speeding out of the bushes towards me.

"About time you showed up."

"Well, I would have arrived sooner if the element of surprise wasn't so effective," she replied, handing over my gear.

"Fair enough." I unsheathed my ninjatō. "Are you ready for a fight?"

"Please," she transformed her paw spikes into Metal Claws, "I was trained ready."

With a final nod, Luna and I raced off to face our respective targets, her against the Raticates and me against the remaining grunts. As they unsheathed their batons, I placed myself into a defensive stance with my sword in a sideways position.

"So, who's first?" The grunt to my left attacked first, letting loose a weak battle cry. He swung at my left, but I deflected the attack and used the motion of the deflection to spin and slash at his stomach. The slash cut deep and caused the grunt to bleed a waterfall of blood. He bled to death, leaving the one grunt by himself. I faced him and placed myself into another defensive stance. Upon seeing his teammate die from the single slash, he attempted to flee. I laughed at his futile attempt and watched the chain-linked kunai fly after him. The knife struck him in the shoulder, but instead of being recalled, I saw Carrisa leap high over his head, releasing some of the chain and land a few feet away from him. The loosened chain fell onto his shoulders and, with a quick yank, wrapped itself around his neck. As he clutched at the chain wrapped around his neck, Carrisa smirked before she pressed a small button in the palm of her hand. The grunt spazzed out before he collapsed onto the ground. I stared at Carrisa with a puzzled look before she spoke.

"I made an adjustment that allows me to shock people with this," she explained, holding up a small, black box. She replaced the box on the side of her hip and recalled the kunai. I looked over to where Luna ran off to and saw Dominus, Jolteon, and Shaymin finishing off the last of the Raticates. I smiled at the sight when I was suddenly struck in the back with such a great force that I fell forward.

'Whatever hit me didn't hold back,' I thought as I felt a wet sensation on my back. I flipped myself over and saw the man in the wet suit leap after me with a blade in his hand. I rolled out of the way just to barely miss a cold, steel blade that stabbed the ground where my head used to be.

"Nice ambush," he snickered, retrieving his sword from the earth, "but it's going to take a lot more than sticks and stones to put down the Water Elemental!"

I staggered to my feet, blade in hand, and prepared myself. His blade was a long katana with the blade itself approximately half of his height. He held it up and readied himself to strike.

"Let's see if you live up to the swordsmanship that my siblings say you possess." With an evil smirk, and a loud battle cry, he charged after me. Once he was in range, he swung his sword at me with all of his force. Even though I managed to block the attack, the force of the attack caused me to stagger backwards. He used this opening to slash at me. I dodged and stumbled backwards until he ceased his advance.

"Come on, kid. Is that all you got!?"

He restarted his assault, causing me to block and doge the entire time. Off of the corner of my eye, I spotted Luna and the Prinplup with the Ampharos in a two-on-one battle. This minor distraction created the perfect opportunity for the Water Elemental to lash out at me, leaving a large cut across my chest. I cried out in pain and clutched my chest as I was brought onto one knee. The Water Elemental laughed maliciously as he neared me for the final blow.

"Gee, I was hoping for a better fight," he chuckled, raising his sword, "oh well."

As he brought his sword down, I mustered whatever strength I had left, raised my sword, and braced for impact. Our blades collided, making a loud clang. He placed more force onto his blade to overcome mine to try and finish me off. In this moment of steel-on-steel action, I glanced over towards Luna to find her knocked out, face down in the dirt, at the feet of the Elementals' Pokémon.

At that moment, something within me snapped. Whatever was holding me back suddenly disappeared and was replaced with a new found energy. Ignoring the pain in my chest, I let out a battle cry of my own and fought against the force of the Elemental. I used this energy to force him backwards and stand on my feet. Now, it was my turn to be on the offensive. With blinding speed and crushing strength, I lashed out at him, leaving now room to block or dodge. He stumbled backwards, covered in cuts and slashes. I panted in exhaustion but still felt the energy from within as if the fight just started. With a firm grip on the handle, I brought my sword down in one powerful motion onto the Elemental. He attempted to block with his sword, but the force of mine was too powerful. The attack even cut through his blade, leaving his sword in two pieces. With him shocked in place, I round house kicked him into a nearby tree. He was too weak at this point to move as he struggled to catch his breath. I glanced back towards the Pokémon to find that Jolteon and Shaymin took Luna's place in the fight, only this time, neither the Ampharos nor the woman was anywhere to be found.

I returned my focus to the Water Elemental who was attempting to stand up. I walked over to him and kicked him in the jaw with the front end of my shoe, causing him to fall back against the tree. I sheathed my ninjatō and pulled out three kunai knives from a pouch on my side. I took one of them and stabbed his right hand onto the ground. He screamed in pain as blood oozed out of his hand.

"That's for the beating earlier." I then stabbed his left hand with another knife. "That's for having your Pokémon hurt Luna." I backed a few feet away from him with the final knife in my hand. "And this," I said, holding the kunai up, "is for threatening that Zoroark and her family." With that, I threw the knife into the center of his chest. He gasped for air as the knife pierced his torso. I came closer and brought my foot up to the bottom of the knife. With tremendous force, I kicked the knife to drive it further into his chest. Blood rushed from the Elemental's chest and hands as he struggled to breathe. After seconds of squirming, he finally laid motionless, signifying his death. Seeing the lifeless body brought flashbacks of the night I killed the mysterious man. My hands and body trembled, but, on the inside, I felt no guilt or remorse like the first time. I always knew that taking a life was wrong, but, at that moment, it felt justified.

'To prevent further harm to those close to me, or anyone for that matter, he had to die.'

Soon after, I collapsed onto the ground, exhausted from the fight. My eyes slowly shut as my mind slipped into unconsciousness.


	19. Chapter 18: More to Life

**Chapter 18: More to Life**

My eyes shot open as I felt a sharp, piercing pain go through my back and the middle of my body. Since I was facing the ground, I couldn't see what was causing the pain, but it would not let me move from that spot. When I looked up, my heart sank about fifty thousand fathoms as I saw the Water Elemental holding Luna in the typical hostage chokehold with a blood-stained kunai knife up to her throat. Blood continued to rush from his wounds I inflicted earlier, but this man, presumed dead, was still standing.

"You thought you could kill me so easily!?" he spat, blood flying out of his mouth. "Guess again, kid!" As I attempted to move, the pain only became stronger and, once again, I was paralyzed on the spot. "Now, you get to see the error of your ways!"

With that, he slowly sliced across Luna's throat, deep enough that she started making gagging sounds as she choked on her own blood.

"NOOOO!" I screamed, struggling to move and stop him.

After cutting all the way across, the Elemental dropped Luna like a child who had just finished playing with a toy. Luna's body fell to the ground, limp and lifeless as her blood watered the soil beneath her. I continued to struggle as I watched the one I truly loved die right before me.

"LUNAAA!"

* * *

My eyes shot open and I gasped for air as I woke up for a second time. Instead of dirt and grass, I was staring up at the "ceiling" of a tent.

"Glad to see you're awake," a familiar voice said. I looked to my left and saw Luna with a teary-eyed smile. I attempted to sit up, only to be greeted with a sharp pain in my chest. "Careful, your wound isn't fully healed and there's only so much that Carrisa's bandages can do." I glanced down and found bandages that covered my chest in a criss-cross formation. I sighed deeply from both the stress of the nightmare that felt so real and the relief that Luna was still alive.

"How long have I been out?"

"Exactly one day since the fight."

I groaned at the fact that I was out for that complete day but waved it off. With whatever strength I had, I pulled Luna into a tight embrace, tearing up as I did.

"I'm so glad you're still alive," I sobbed. "I'm so, so, so sorry to put you in that situation."

She gently placed her paws around me, returning the embrace. "It's not your fault," she sniffled. "Besides, you're the one that nearly died." We both continued our embrace and sniffling for a few more minutes. When we broke away, slowly stood up and started to walk in the tent.

"Let's go show everyone that you're still alive."

As we both exited the tent, Carrisa, Alejandro, and Kaarina focused their attention on me.

"Welcome back to the land of the living," Carrisa chuckled.

"How are you feeling?" Alejandro asked.

"Not so well, but I'll pull through," I half-heartedly replied.

"Well, it's good to see that you're awake," Kaarina beamed.

I sat down and saw a familiar figure appear from the nearby shrubbery. It was Raven on the verge of breaking down in tears.

"Are you okay?" she asked frantically, tears streaming down her face. "I am so sorry, Alex. I didn't mean to have you get hurt." She began bawling her eyes out, constantly repeating herself saying, "I'm so sorry."

I pulled her towards me and held her in a tight hug. "Shhh, it's okay. I know it's not your fault. You were doing what you had to do to protect your family." As I attempted to calm her down, she continued to cry, but she returned the hug. I used my finger to lift her chin and have her look at me.

"You have your son and I'm still alive, that's all that should matter," I reassured.

After mentioning him, the small Zorua emerged from his mother's hair and hopped onto the ground. I knelt down and began scratching behind his little black ears, causing him to tilt his head, asking for more. He then hopped into my arms and nuzzled my chest.

"Thank you for saving me," he purred. After placing him back down, I faced Raven who was beaming with joy from my interaction with her son.

"I do have one question for you," I said. "Do you still want to travel with me, or do you want to stay here?"

She pondered the question with a claw up to her chin. With a smile she replied, "I definitely want to travel with you, but can you keep my son away from a poké ball? I want him to choose if he wants to stay wild or travel with a trainer."

I pulled out one of the empty luxury balls and prepared it for a capture. "Of course. Are you ready?"

"Let's do it."

I threw the ball and when it reached Raven, she disappeared in a red glow. When the it chimed a capture, I released Raven from the small contraption. She was grinning nearly ear-to-ear as she reappeared.

"I can't wait!" she cried, nearly tackling me into a hug.

The rest of the day passed fairly quickly and, soon enough, night was upon us. Luna rarely left my side throughout the day, but it didn't bother me. Actually, it comforted me to know that she was still there. When I lied down to go to sleep, Luna lied gently against my right side and cuddled up against my arm. Raven soon entered the tent and snuggled against my left arm while the little Zorua hopped down and curled up into a ball on my chest.

"Good night, everyone."

"Good night, Alex," they replied in unison with Luna and Raven giving me a peck on my right and left cheek.

* * *

The next morning, I woke up to Luna and Raven still asleep at my sides and the little Zorua still on my chest.

'There has to be more to life than always worrying about what may happen.' I looked over towards Luna. 'At least you're still here. I don't think I would be able to be myself without you.' I gave her a small kiss on the forehead, causing her to smile in her sleep and grip me tighter. I glanced to my left and saw Raven still asleep. 'Not to mention that I have another one that I care about to look after.' I smiled at the sight and slowly wiggled free from her and Luna's grip to get up. Upon accomplishing this, I placed the Zorua in his mother's hair, rose from the ground and exited the tent. No one else was up, so I thought I could cook up something as a 'thank you' for keeping me alive. I gathered the materials and noticed that our supplies were running.

'One more thing to worry about.' I sighed in annoyance and went to work with making a breakfast of pancakes and eggs. After there was a good stack of pancakes and a pile of scrambled eggs, I went to wake everyone up. Before I could make my way over, everyone exited their tents with different expressions.

"Oooooh, what's for breakfast?" Kaarina chimed.

"Pancakes and eggs."

"Awesome."

"It's too early for this," Carrisa stated groggily with her eyes half way closed.

"Well, gee, you didn't have to get up."

"Thanks, Alex," Alejandro said in a very monotonous way.

"Still tired?" His response was a loud, drawn out yawn. "That's a yes."

Everyone sat down, grabbed a plate full of food, and began eating away.

"Well guys," I started, "first off, I'd like to say thank you for getting me out of that situation a couple of days back. I really appreciate that you helped me get out of there alive."

"No problem. Just let us know when you want to pull off another suicide mission," Carrisa smirked.

"Beating the Elementals wouldn't be the same without the full team, anyways," Alejandro chuckled. "What else were you going to tell us?"

I sighed. "We're running low on supplies, and we have almost no money."

"So," Carrisa said, chewing away at her breakfast, "do you have a suggestion on what to do?"

"I was thinking that we could go into the nearby town and see if we can make some quick cash."

"Alright," Kaarina replied. "So, when are we leaving?"

"As soon as everyone is ready."

After eating, we all returned to our tents to finish preparations to leave. I entered my tent to find Luna and Raven barely waking up.

"Good morning." After a quick stretch and a few yawns, they returned a tired "good morning."

"Breakfast is waiting for you outside. Once you're finished, get ready for a walk."

Luna was the first one up on her feet. Before she exited the tent, she gave me a tight hug followed by a quick kiss.

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

She left the tent followed by Raven and her son who was poking his head out of her hair. I finished preparing myself for going into town, wearing my plain, dark gray shirt, navy blue jeans, and a pair of black sneakers since my white ones were stained with blood. The tent was then dismantled and tucked away for later use. With my pack on my back and everyone else all set, we headed down the road to a nearby town.

The walk to the town of Kirkwood took about three hours from our previous camping area. The town was fairly large with miles of concrete buildings of all sorts, houses, stores, warehouses, restaurants, hotels, so on and so forth.

"Alright, let's split up and see if we can get some jobs," I announced.

Soon enough, we all separated in an attempt to make some cash.

* * *

We spent about a week in Kirkwood trying to find jobs. Each day, we searched through newspaper ads and doing quick jobs by helping others. At night, we would meet together, check each other's progress, and then camp out in an alley way. Around the weekend, we decided to take a break and we met at a local bar called Paul's Place.

"So, how's the hunt going?" I asked, sipping away on a Sprite.

"We're barely making enough to get through each day," Alejandro groaned.

"Can I have everyone's attention?"

We all shifted our eyes towards a man in probably his mid-forties in a plaid work shirt and black jeans.

"Uh, unfortunately, the band that was supposed to play will not be able to make it, so there will be no live performance tonight." Groans and sighs could be heard throughout the bar.

"Bummer," Carrisa said, taking a quick drink from her Coca Cola, "I was really looking forward to live music."

"Hang on. Didn't we all take classes for some musical instrument?" Kaarina asked.

"Yeah, so?"

"I'll be right back." Kaarina rushed from her seat, leaving us all puzzled. She returned panting, jumping, and with a large smile across her face. "Okay, so the owner, Paul, has some instruments in the back. He said that we could perform in place of the other group, and he would pay us if we do well."

I nearly choked on my soda. "Perform live, are you serious!? Will we have time to prepare?"

"Yeah, he said to let him know when we are ready."

Carrisa rose from her seat. "We better do a good job so we can get paid."

It took about a half-hour to get used to our instruments. Kaarina was on acoustic guitar, I was on electric guitar, Alejandro was going to be percussion but was going to use a clarinet later, and Carrisa was on piano. We set ourselves on stage and were ready for our first song, Counting Stars, the cover version by Alex Goot, Kurt Schnieder, and Chrissy Costanza. With the audience settled, I began the count.

"1... 2... 3... 4..."

_**Kaarina:**__ Lately, I've been_

_I've been losing sleep_

_Dreamin' about the things that we could be_

_**Me:**__ But, baby, I've been_

_I've been prayin' hard_

_**Both:**__ Said no more countin' dollars. _

_We'll be countin' stars_

_**Kaarina:**__ Yeah, we'll be countin' stars_

_[Instrumental Break]_

_**Me:**__ I see this life like a swingin' vine_

_Swing my heart across the line_

_In my face is flashin' signs_

_Seek it out and ye' shall find_

_**Both:**__ Old_

_**Me:**__ But I'm not that old_

_**Both:**__ Young_

_**Me:**__ But I'm not that bold_

_I don't think the world is sold_

_I'm just doin' what we're told_

_**Kaarina:**__ And IIIIII feel something so right_

_Doin' the wrong thing_

_And IIIIII feel something so wrong_

_Doin' the right thing_

_**Me: **__I couldn't lie_

_Couldn't lie_

_Couldn't lie_

_Everything that kills me makes me feel alive._

_**Kaarina: **__Lately, I've been_

_I've been losin' sleep_

_Dreamin' about the things that we could be_

_**Both: **__But lately, I've been_

_I've been prayin' hard_

_Said no more countin' dollars_

_We'll be_

_We'll be countin' stars_

_**Me: **__Yeah we'll be countin' stars_

_Yeeeaaah_

_**Both: **__I feel the love_

_**Kaarina: **__And I feel it burn_

_Down this river_

_Every turn_

_**Both: **__Hope is a four letter word_

_**Kaarina: **__Make that money_

_Watch it burn_

_**Both: **__Old_

_**Me:**__ But I'm not that old_

_**Both: **__Young_

_**Me: **__But I'm not that bold_

_I don't think the world is sold_

_I'm just doin' what we're told_

_**Kaarina: **__And IIIIII feel something so wrong_

_Doin' the right thing_

_**Me: **__I couldn't lie_

_Couldn't lie_

_Couldn't lie_

_Everything that drowns me makes me wanna fly_

_**Kaarina: **__Lately I've been_

_I've been losin' sleep_

_Dreamin' about the things that we could be_

_**Both: **__But lately, I've been_

_I've been prayin' hard_

_Said no more countin' dollars_

_We'll be_

_We'll be countin' stars_

_**Me:**__ Lately, I've been_

_I've been losin' sleep_

_Dreamin' about the things that we could be_

_**Both:**__ But, baby, I've been _

_I've been prayin' hard_

_**Me: **__Said no more countin' dollars. _

_We'll be _

_**Both: **__We'll be countin' stars_

_**Me: **__Yeah we'll be countin' stars_

_Woooah_

_**Kaarina: **__Lately, I've been_

_I've been losin' sleep_

_Dreamin' about the things that we could be_

_**Both: **__But lately, I've been_

_I've been prayin' hard_

_Said no more countin' dollars_

_We'll be_

_We'll be countin' stars_

_**Me:**__ Lately, I've been_

_I've been losin' sleep_

_Dreamin' about the things that we could be_

_**Both:**__ But, baby, I've been _

_I've been prayin' hard_

_**Me: **__Said no more countin' dollars. _

_We'll be _

_**Both: **__We'll be countin' stars!_

After the music died down, the audience roared in applause, shocking all of us. What shocked us even more was when they wanted us to continue playing. We gave in a decided to give the audience what they wanted. Throughout the night, we played songs such as Good Time (Owl City), Beauty and a Beat (Justin Bieber), Catch My Breath (Kelly Clarkson), and even a clarinet and piano instrumental of Stereo Hearts (Gym Class Heroes ft. Adam Levine). Each song ended with cheers, screams, and applause from the crowd.

"I didn't know we played that well," I laughed

"Who knew we could draw such a crowd?" Kaarina giggled.

The amount of people in the bar drastically increased since we began. As we walked off stage, Luna nearly tackled me to the in a hug.

"Oh. My. Gosh. Alex! You played so well!"

"Thanks. It means a lot coming from you."

"I was wondering," Luna said, fiddling with her paws, "Can I sing a song with you?"

"I would love to sing with you!" I smiled. "What song did you have in mind?"

Luna's face lit up like a Christmas tree with her tail wagging rapidly. "I was thinking that we could sing that cover of Bruno Mars's Treasure. You know, the one with the male and female duet."

"Alright, I'll let Carrisa know and we'll be on shortly."

She rapidly kissed my face before replying. "Thank you! You really are my treasure."

I blushed at the compliment, causing Luna to giggle. After informing Carrisa of our plans, Luna, Carrisa, and I walked back on stage. The audience simmered down as they saw us prepare for our final song. With a few nods, I began the count.

"1... 2... 3... 4..."

_**Luna: **__Give me all_

_Give me all_

_Give me all your attention, baby_

_I gotta tell you a little something about yourself_

_**Me: **__You're wonderful, flawless_

_Ooh, you're a sexy lady_

_But you walk around here like you wanna be someone else_

_**Both: **__Oh wooooah_

_**Luna: **__I know that you don't know me_

_But you're fine, so fine_

_**Me: **__Fine, so fine_

_**Both: **__Oh wooooah_

_**Me: **__Oh girl I'm gonna show you_

_When you're mine oh mine_

_**Luna:**__ Mine, oh mine_

_**Both:**__ Treasure_

_That is what you are_

_**Me: **__Honey_

_**Both: **__You're my golden star_

_You know you could make my wish come true_

_If you let me treasure you_

_If you let me treasure you_

_Hoo, hoooooo, hoo hoo_

_Yeah_

_**Me: **__Pretty girl_

_Pretty girl_

_Pretty girl you should be smilin'_

_**Luna: **__You should be smilin'_

_**Me: **__A girl like you should never look so blue_

_**Luna: **__You're everything I see in my dreams_

_I wouldn't tell that to you if it wasn't true_

_**Both: **__Oh wooooah_

_**Me: **__I know that you don't know it_

_But you're fine, so fine_

_**Luna: **__Fine, so fine_

_**Both: **__Oh wooooah_

_**Luna: **__Oh boy I'm gonna tell you_

_When you're mine oh mine_

_**Me:**__ Mine, oh mine_

_**Both:**__ Treasure_

_That is what you are_

_**Me: **__Honey_

_**Both: **__You're my golden star_

_You know you could make my wish come true_

_If you let me treasure you_

_If you let me treasure you_

_Hoo, hoooooo, hoo hoo_

_Yeah_

_**Both: **__You are my treasure_

_You are my treasure_

_You are my treasure_

_Yeah you, you, you_

_You are_

_You are my treasure_

_You are my treasure_

_You are my treasure_

_Yeah you, you, you_

_You are_

_**Me:**__ Treasure_

_**Luna: **__You are my treasure_

_**Me: **__That is what you are_

_**Luna: **__You are my treasure_

_You are my treasure_

_**Me: **__Honey, you're my golden star_

_**Luna: **__Yeah you, you, you_

_You are_

_You are my treasure_

_**Me: **__You know you could make my wish come true_

_**Luna: **__You are my treasure_

_You are my treasure_

_**Me: **__If you let me treasure you_

_**Luna: **__Yeah you, you, you_

_You are_

_**Me: **__C'mon_

_**Both: **__If you let me treasure you_

_Hoo, hoooooo, hoo hoo_

_Yeah!"_

The audience was in an uproar, even the Kaarina and Alejandro were cheering madly at our performance. We bowed and made our way off stage.

"I must have died and gone to heaven," I stated, smiling at Luna, "because, tonight, I heard the voice of an angel." Luna giggled, threw her arms around me, and gave me a peck on the cheek.

'I think I found what I was looking for,' I thought to myself as we returned together to enjoy the rest of the night. 'Maybe there is more than just worrying about what may happen next. Based on today's events, life is about doing what you love with the people you love, all while enjoying the moment.'


	20. Chapter 19: The Underground Temple

**Chapter 19: The Underground Temple**

As usual, I woke up much earlier than everyone else. It took over a week of being in the city to realize that Pokémon Centers provide free rooming. In order to avoid taking potential rooms for other trainers, we all shared one room. It didn't bother us considering the fact that the rooms were actually quite spacious with lots of leg room and two beds. I lied on the ground with Raven and Luna by my sides, Alejandro slept in a computer chair off in the corner with Shaymin in his lap, Kaarina and Dominus were sound asleep on one of the beds, and Jolteon was curled into a ball on the other bed.

'Where's Carrisa?' I shrugged the thought away as I slowly stood up and prepared for the day. After a quick shower, brushing my teeth, and getting dressed, I sat down on the same bed that Jolteon was sleeping on, being careful not to wake him up. Besides the sounds of breathing and snoring, the room was completely silent. Silence, sometimes it's a good thing, but like at the Grand Canyon, it was unnerving. To fix that, I decided to go for a walk. I found a pen and some paper and used these items to leave Luna a note.

_Luna,_

_Went for a walk to clear my head. If I'm not back by the time you wake up, please, call me. I love you.~ Alex_

I left the note on the bedside table, put on my shoes, and left the room. As I left, I slowly shut the door to prevent excessive noise.

"BOO!"

"AH! Shit..." I jumped and nearly fell because of Carrisa's scare. At the moment, though, she was laughing her ass off.

"You should have seen the look on your face!" she managed to say through her fit of laughter. My heart was racing and I was breathing heavily and in short gasps.

"Damn, Carrisa. I don't want to have a heart attack before we've traveled the world."

"C'mon, you know it was funny."

"Okay, it was a bit funny."

Her laughter eventually died down and I managed to actually talk to her.

"So, why are you up so early?"

"I could ask you the same thing," she responded, maintaining her smirk.

"I was going for a walk to clear my head," I muttered.

"Alex, you gotta loosen up. You're always worrying and I think we are going to change that today."

I raised an eyebrow at this. "How?"

She placed a finger on her chin, giving that question some thought before her facial expression screamed, "I've got it!" "There's supposed to be a great muffin place a few blocks away. How about a race there?"

I sighed in defeat. "Alright, BUT, to make things interesting, whoever gets there last has to pay for breakfast."

"Well, might as well pay already," Carrisa smirked, "because you're gonna eat my dust."

"So, where is it, exactly?"

"If I were able to walk straight to it, I'd say," she paused briefly before lifting her finger to her left, "that way."

"Well, what are we waiting for?"

With that, we both took off speeding through Kirkwood. Instead of running on the sidewalks, we actually ran through across the buildings. By hopping from rooftop to rooftop, jumping on trashcans over chain link fences, running on walls, whatever the method, we navigated our way to our destination.

"I WON!" Carrisa shouted triumphantly through her panting. I finally caught up with her, panting my lungs out and covered in sweat.

"Ha ha, that was actually really fun."

"Good," Carrisa smiled, "because you're paying for breakfast." I shrugged and we entered the café. The place wasn't very large, almost like a small business place, but had a bar-like style by the front window. Carrisa ordered two chocolate chip muffins and I simply asked for a blueberry muffin. We were both shocked when they arrived, mainly due to them being the size of a fist. A very large fist.

"That's one large muffin," I commented, studying the object in my hand. I glanced over at Carrisa who had just scarfed down her first muffin.

"Dis is dericious," she managed to murmur with her mouth filled. She was about to start on her second one before she froze in place.

"What's wrong?"

She sat still for several seconds before slowly speaking. "There. Is. A. Shiny. Freaking. Absol. Out. There!"

I turned around and saw a four-legged animal outside of the café that had a sharp-tipped tail and a horn in the shape of a crescent moon on the right side of its head. Normally, they were a white and dark blue color, but this one had pink fur with a dark red tail, horn, face, and claws. Carrisa placed her muffin in her pouch and ran after it before I could say anything. The Absol took notice and sped off in another direction. I groaned in annoyance and ran after Carrisa.

"Wait up, Carrisa!"

"Alex, it's a freaking shiny! You don't pass up opportunities like this!"

I struggled but managed to keep up. The Absol continued to sprint through town, eventually leading us to the outskirts. The transition of concrete buildings to the green forest caused me to worry about the Absol's true intentions.

'For all we know, this thing could be leading us to our death.' I shook the idea out of my head and continued after Carrisa, constantly pleading for her to stop. After another ten minutes, the Absol stopped in its tracks. While Carrisa had all of her attention on the Absol, I stared in disbelief at where we were led to. In front of us was a large, spacious cave that contained a view of complete darkness.

"Uhh..."

"I've got you now!" Carrisa shouted, priming her poké ball for capture. Before she could throw it, the Absol dashed into the cave, disappearing in the darkness. Carrisa blindly ran after the Absol before disappearing as well.

"Carrisa!" I called out.

No response. I pulled out my phone and noticed that I had no signal.

'I'll have to do some explaining when I get back.' I sighed and rushed after Carrisa.

Once inside the cave, there was nothing to see but darkness.

'So, this is what it's like to be blind.' I wandered through the cave for what felt like hours but was really only a couple of minutes, calling for Carrisa.

"Carrisa! Carr-AGHH!"

I slipped due to the lack of flooring and descended onto a jagged slope. I slid deeper into the earth, the rough slope scraping my arms and legs. Seconds passed by before I finally stopped my descent by dropping onto a flat surface. The wind was knocked out of me, but at least there were no sharp rocks to greet me at the bottom. Slowly regaining my strength, I wobbled onto my feet and noticed that I could see again. I searched for the light source and found not only that, but also something I'm surprised archeologists haven't found. It was an enormous temple that had a pyramid-like design to it, with the point at the top missing. Even with a similar design, I couldn't think of an ancient civilization that is known to have built such a structure. Along the center of one of the faces of the building was a set of stone stairs that led to the middle section. In fact, the whole structure appeared to be stone with intricate and colorful designs along the smooth faces that were basked in the light flowing from a hole in the ceiling of the cave. I stared in awe until a familiar voice broke the unnerving silence.

"Alex!" Near the base of the temple, Carrisa waved her arms. "That Absol went inside. C'mon!"

She and I rushed up the steps and entered. Once inside, we were greeted with more darkness. After we took another step forward, a strange, periwinkle light assaulted our eyes. We regained ourselves from the sudden flash of light and saw a narrow, stone hallway lined with Lampents leading to another room.

"Look! There it is!" Carrisa pointed to the Absol that stood in the center of the room across from us. The room was bathed in what appeared to be sunlight emanating from the ceiling. She dashed for the Absol, and an enormous stone slab slid over the opening as soon as she entered the room, leaving me stuck in the hallway. I rushed towards the slab.

"Carrisa!" No response. "Carrisa!" I slammed my fists onto the stone. "Dammit!" I stood in silence until the sound of stone scraping stone filled the hallway. I focused to my left and saw another room similar to the one that Carrisa ran into.

'I'm on my way.' I entered the room and was soon sealed in like Carrisa. There was no opening to leave, so I drew my ninjatō and prepared for the worst. A purple being soon descended from the ceiling and drifted towards me. It had the appearance of a witch's hat and a long, flowing dress. When the front end of the "hat" lifted, I saw a pair of eyes that pierced my soul.

'A Mismagius.' It gave a devilish smile before speaking.

"Let the tests begin." I shot it a puzzled look before it vanished, leaving only an unbearable silence behind. The Mismagius sent me a telepathic message from wherever it was.

"Test of Observation." I was unsure what this meant, but I started to hear movement. The sounds echoed throughout the room as if it came from everywhere.

'Focus, Alex. It's only coming from one source.' I closed my eyes and focused on the moving object. I heard it scuttle every now and then and a faint humming like a pair of bug wings. I heard it become louder and louder until it was right next to me.

'My left!' I side kicked and hit something solid that grunted. I opened my eyes and saw a Scyther lying on the ground. Before I could inspect any further, it disassembled into dust.

"What the-?" My thoughts were interrupted from the sliding stone that revealed another room. "Let's see what's behind door number two." I reluctantly shuffled into the room.

"Test of Combat."

'Great...' I waited in silence for my opponent when a red and white being fell from the ceiling and onto the opposite end of the floor. As it rose from the floor, it towered over me, even from a distance. It was a Blaziken.

"Fair enough," I stated, sheathing my sword and readying my fists. I froze in place when it suddenly became incased in a pearl-like orb. A split second later, the Blaziken emerged in a whole new form. The white, feathered mane it usually had formed a two wing-shaped hairstyle on its head, and a feathery vest across its chest. One large horn jutted from the center of the Blaziken's head and it was covered from head to toe in red and black markings. From its upper talons, ribbons of fire streamed out and flowed with the non-existent wind.

'Shit.' It stood in an intimidating silence before it unleashed a deafening roar that echoed throughout the temple. After this display, it rushed after me with its talons in fists. Once it was close enough, its right fist was engulfed in flames as it launched itself towards me. I managed to dodge just in time to miss the inferno, only to be kneed to the stomach. With the wind knocked out of me from the powerful blow, the Blaziken picked me up and threw me across the room. I crashed and scraped against the stone floor and slid to a halt. As I stumbled to my feet, the Blaziken rushed over and planted a foot on my chest, pinning me against the wall. My clothes didn't burn, but I could still feel the sting of the fire it placed into that attack. It pushed further against my chest, placing more and more force as if to break my ribs. I let out a weak chuckle, causing the Blaziken to give me a confused look.

"Do you know what the advantage is of having a fighting type Pokémon?" I grabbed the overgrown chicken's leg and slammed my fist against its knee. I must have popped it out of place because the Blaziken wailed in pain and its leg became limp. "You learn the ins and outs of fighting other Pokémon."

I pulled its leg so that the Blaziken could be greeted with a fist to the face. I managed to shuffle away from the wall and watched as the Blaziken placed its knee back in place which created a loud, gut-wrenching popping sound. It stood up and glared at me, engulfing its talons in flames. It rushed for me again, firing its fists to land a hit. I ducked, dashed, and twisted out of the path of each enraged swing.

"You've got speed," I stated before giving its jaw a swift uppercut. "But you lack accuracy." After the uppercut, I launched a Force Palm attack to the Blaziken's chest, causing it to fly back several feet. Its talons scrapped across the stone to slow itself to a stop. I used Extreme Speed to close in on it before it could recover and kneed it to the face. The Blaziken flopped onto its back and lied down in a winded defeat. Before I could deliver the knockout blow, the Blaziken disappeared into dust like the Scyther before it. I sighed and wobbled to the center of the room. The stone slid open once again, revealing yet another room.

"Let's get this over with," I huffed. I shuffled to the next room and after I was sealed in, I was greeted with pitch black darkness.

"BRING IT ON!"

The Mismagius's voice returned with a mischievous giggle.

"Final test. Test of Fear." Those words echoed through my mind as I stood in the darkness.

"Alex!" I looked around for where the voice called from.

"Hello!? Carrisa!?" Soon, the room was illuminated by a dim, blue flame in the center. I heard a shriek and blindly ran forward, hoping to find the creator of such a sound. I soon noticed that my surroundings morphed from the simple stone room to a dense forest. There was another shriek only, this time, it sounded much more familiar.

"Luna!?" I was now sprinting through the never-ending forest. Eventually, I found a clearing and saw Luna standing in the center of it.

"Luna, are you ok?" She turned around and shrieked again.

"You... you... you... MURDERER!"

"What are you talking abou-" I then noticed that my hands were soaked in blood and a familiar body in front of me. It suddenly clicked in my brain that this was the mysterious man that I killed in the past.

"Luna, I-"

"This man had a life ahead of him and you took it away from him!"

"He was trying to hurt you."

"NO! He loved me!" I was taken aback by this statement. "He was the only one that did love me!" Tears formed in my eyes from hearing her say this. "But it's too late now," she sniffled. "He's gone, and you killed him!"

Her sad demeanor was replaced by one with fury and rage. I stared at her in disbelief and sadness. 'My worst fear made real. She doesn't love me and hates me with all of her being.'

I attempted to walk up to Luna, but she swatted me away with a Force Palm. I was flung towards a tree and crashed into it, my physical being nearly crushed. She ran over to me and prepared a Power-Up Punch. She slammed her paw onto my chest, knocking the wind out of me. She punched my stomach with another punch but with much more force.

"I... refuse... to fight you," I coughed.

"GOOD!" Luna screamed, throwing another punch at my chest. Punch after punch, she placed more force into her assault. I could feel my blood trail out of my mouth and down my chest. She stopped her punches and readied an Aura Sphere to finish me off. With whatever strength I had left, I brought Luna into a weak hug.

"Get off of me!" she cried.

"No," I whispered, clinging onto whatever life I had. "I refuse to accept that this is you." She flailed, shook, and thrashed about in an attempt to throw me off. Despite my weakness, I held onto her, tightening the embrace.

"This isn't you. This isn't the Luna I know. The Luna that I know was brought to this world from a Gardevoir that she met after being left to die by her abusive trainer. The Luna I know woke up in a strange boy's room, and that boy took care of you despite what you were or where you came from." I hacked up more blood before continuing. "The Luna I know trained with that boy for days on end, preparing him for his swordsmanship class. The Luna I know comforted that boy when he felt down and laughed with him when he felt his best. Through it all, that boy loved everything about the Luna I know."

Luna's thrashing ended a while back, but it took up until that last sentence for her to become calm. I finally managed to look her dead in the eye.

"That boy was me, and the Luna I know loved him for who he was." After saying this, the world swirled around me, and my grip loosened as I felt what I guessed was death slowly taking me, until I heard a familiar, mischievous voice.

"You have passed all three tests. The Legendaries welcome you to their home."

I felt myself regain from all of the physical pain and agony I experienced. Tears streamed down my face as I waited for something to happen. The stone slab slid open, but, this time, a blinding light escaped from the room. I squinted in order to see through all of the light and shuffled forward. Soon enough, I was enveloped in the light which was all I saw, but I heard voices.

"This one has proven his worthiness." This voice was very feminine, almost motherly and calming.

"I don't care, he is a human!" This voice was almost the complete opposite, extremely masculine and deep that could strike fear into even the bravest of men.

"Why do you hate humans so much?"

"Because, they capture our wonderful creations and force them to do their bidding."

"That is true, but not all humans are bad. This one that stands before us is a prime example."

"Who's to say that he was not sent here to capture us!? For all we know, he could be working for those 'Elementals'!"

"For all YOU know. I've been keeping an eye on him ever since he fell in love with one of our creations. This boy wants to help others."

"Really now? How far will he go to prove his point?"

"Well, he's put many of his kind to death already and it seems as if he'll do it again."

"Excuse me." The constant bickering ceased once I spoke.

"What do you want, human?"

"Oh, c'mon, don't be so mean. Yes, dear?"

"Um..." Any thoughts of what I wanted to say escaped from my mind, leaving me to stand there like a baffled idiot.

"See, this human is wasting our time."

"No, he's not. He's just at a loss of words. Well, c'mon now, speak up."

"I... uh... I-I was wondering why I am here."

"Oh, sweetie, you're here to speak with us. Those tests you took were to prove your worthiness."

"I understand that, but is there a much larger reason as to why I am here? In all honesty, I don't have my own reason."

"Well, you see, my friend here has a hard time believing that there is still good in your species and I wanted to prove him wrong."

"This demonstration proves nothing!"

"It proves that he is willing to do what it takes to help his friends."

From that statement, my brain received a kick start and I was instantly reminded of why I came here initially.

"Oh shoot! My friend, Carrisa, is she-"

"She's fine, dear. She's waiting for you outside of the cave you came through." It felt as if a one thousand pound weight was lifted from my shoulders as I sighed in relief.

"I believe this human is no longer needed here."

"Does that mean you believe me now?"

"No! It means that he no longer has a purpose here!"

"You are such a stink sometimes. You know that, right? Bye, sweetie! Remember to keep your good intentions!"

Suddenly, my body jerked and twitched as my surroundings rapidly shifted from blinding light to lush, green forest.

"Alex! Where did you come from?" I spun around and Carrisa gingerly leaning against the rock wall near the cave opening.

"I... uh..."

"Never mind that. Look!" She threw a poké ball and the shiny Absol from earlier appeared.

"How did you catch it?"

She simply shrugged. "I guess it just wanted a trainer."

"Well, we better get back to town. Everyone else is probably worried sick." Carrisa glance at me and smirked.

"Last one to town buys lunch?"

"You bet."

We dashed towards Kirkwood in our little race. For some reason, that encounter I had earlier filled me with a new form of determination, and it show as I sped towards town, leaving Carrisa in the dust. I finally arrived at the front of the Pokémon Center with Carrisa trailing behind. Before I could shout in victory, the doors flung open and Luna tackled me to the ground. She instantly nuzzled me as I lied on the concrete.

"Alex! Where were you? You had me so worried when I woke up. Haven't you received my calls?"

"No, but, as you can see, I'm fine. Thanks for caring." We stood up and I was suddenly slapped by Luna, leaving a stinging sensation on my cheek.

"Don't you EVER scare me like that again."

"I don't plan on to," I grunted, rubbing my cheek. In a weird way, I was actually glad she did that. It showed me that she still loved me, sending relief to my heart.

"So, where's Ra-" As if on cue, Raven sped out of the Pokémon Center and tackled me to the ground. "Wow. I didn't know that you girls cared for me that much," I chuckled. After standing up again, I received another slap, this time from Raven. "I deserved both of those."

"Hold on." Raven started to sniff away, searching for who knows what. She slowly inched closer until she began taking in big whiffs against me.

"Not the best idea," I warned. "I've been running all day, so I probably smell awful."

She took one last, drawn-out whiff before her eyes went wide. "Alex, you've met them!?"

"Met who?" Luna asked, puzzled by what just happened.

"He's met our creators!" Raven exclaimed. "I can tell by the scent!"

Luna was stunned, but soon became wide-eyed and giddy just like Raven. I was then bombarded with questions from both of them.

"What do they look like?"

"What did they say?"

"Did they display their power?"

"Are they as mighty as we believe they are?"

"How did you manage to meet them?"

"Girls, girls, calm down." On command, both Pokémon simmered down and waited in anticipation. "I think it would make sense if I told you the story."

The next half-hour was spent explaining the events of the day, the race, the Absol, the cave, the temple, and the voices.

"So, you had to take tests in order to gain the favor of our creators?" Raven asked.

"Yeah," I glumly stated. "And let me tell you, they sure as hell aren't easy."

"What were the tests?" Luna asked, wagging her tail in anticipation.

"There were three tests: the Test of Observation, the Test of Combat, and the Test of Fear." Tears began to form in my eyes and the two Pokémon tilted their heads in confusion.

"What was the Test of Fear like?" Luna questioned. I grasped her paw firmly as the images from the event filled my mind.

"Let's just say that I've seen what Hell looks like." Luna embraced me tightly as I shook slightly.

"What happened?" she whispered.

"Something that I pray is never a possibility." I took a few moments to recollect myself. "As for your creators," I weakly chuckled, "I wasn't able to see them."

"What did they say?" Raven was rapidly shaking with excitement.

"One thing is for certain, one of them doesn't like me."

"Why is that?"

"Mostly because I am a human and he doesn't like how humans capture Pokémon and essentially enslave them."

"What did the other one say?"

"It may sound weird, but she has been watching me since I fell in love with Luna. She knows what I want to do and used me to prove to the other that not all humans are bad."

"Did he believe it?"

"No, he still looks down on me because of his unwillingness to change."

"What happened after that?"

"I was teleported outside of the cave and that was pretty much it." Raven gave a cute little pout and crossed her arms.

"I wanted to know more about my creators."

"It sounds like you had an interesting day," Luna stated, continuing her embrace.

"Yeah," I gave a long, drawn-out yawn, "but I think it's time to end it."

"Shall we?" Luna held out her arm, ready to be escorted back inside. I looped my arm around hers and we both walked inside. I heard a small giggle echo in my mind along with one of the voices from earlier.

"You two are so cute." This gave me a small smile as I lied down on the floor and drifted off to sleep.


	21. Chapter 20: Familiar Faces

**Chapter 20: Familiar Faces**

"Alex, I just woke up and called like you told me, give me a call."

"Alex, why aren't you answering your phone?~ Call me."

"Are you okay? You haven't responded to my other calls, pick up."

I couldn't help but feel guilty and laugh at each one. I woke up before everyone else, as usual, and I spent my early morning on the roof of the Pokémon Center.

'Good thing I lost my fear of heights.' Luna told me she called a few times when she woke up. When I checked my phone, it had over one hundred missed calls and voice messages. Luckily, I was an early riser and used this time to go through each one. As the messages progressed, I felt even more guilt from the sorrow in her voice.

"I love you, Alex. Please answer your phone and tell me you love me." I tried my hardest to not burst into tears from that message. I gave a shaky sigh and placed my head in my hands.

'I didn't mean to hurt you.' Soon, a pair of furry paws wrapped around my body and embraced me. I managed to turn and face Luna who gave me a weak smile.

"Listen, I'm really, really, really sorry about having you worry about me like that," I brought her into a tight embrace, "I never meant to make you cry."

"It's okay," she whispered, "I'm just glad to see you again. I was worried that something happened to you."

"Yeah, your over one hundred messages managed to tell me that." Her face flushed a bright red, and she playfully swatted my arm. "Still, there is one thing that I forgot to do." She tilted her head in confusion, perfectly angled for me to plant a kiss on her lips. "I forgot to tell you that I love you." She yipped in glee and hugged me again.

"Alright, I'm going to wake up Raven and we'll go for a walk through the woods. Okay?"

She gave me a quick kiss on my nose. "As long as I'm with you, I'm more than okay."

Shortly after I woke Raven up, we all strolled through the forest. We didn't speak much, but the sounds of wild Pokémon playing and the gentle breeze provided enough noise to prevent an awkward silence.

"So, when are we traveling to South America?" Luna asked, breaking the silence between us.

"I'm not sure," I replied, "that's mostly up to the rest of the group."

"I can't wait!" Raven squealed, shaking with glee, "I'm actually going to visit another place!"

"You haven't been anywhere outside of the forest?" I questioned.

"Nope. I've been here all of my life."

"Well, you're ,in for quite a surprise when we travel."

"Yeah, I hope the places we visit are beautiful."

"Some will be. Others, not so much." I froze in place as I heard rustling in the bushes next to me. A teenager, probably around my age, appeared from the bushes after I looked in his direction. He carried a large pack and wore a long sleeved jacket with a pair of black jeans.

"Ha!" he shouted, "You made eye contact! You have to battle me!" His facial expression changed when he saw Luna. "Well, well, well, look who it is. The little bitch who can't do shit." He stepped towards her and placed his hand on her. I totally lost it and slammed my fist in his chest, causing him to stumble backwards.

"Touch or say anything to Luna again and I'll crush your windpipe," I threatened.

"I don't have anything to say to that piece of shit." Fueled by anger, I stepped towards him, only to be stopped by Raven.

"So you're the asshole that hurt Luna."

"I prefer to call it 'discipline'."

"I don't give two shits about what you call it. It's fucking abuse!"

"Whatever, you still have to battle me." I gave an almost inhuman, beastly growl.

"Fine. Luna, let's do this." Luna confidently stood next to me and struck an attacking pose.

"Pfft, whatever. Go, Gardevoir!" When the Pokémon appeared, I saw a slender being with thin, mint green arms that matched its mint green hair which curled at the sides of its head and split its face evenly down the middle. Its face, chest, and dress were a fair white with a crimson spike jutting through its midsection. As it swayed back and forth, I saw thin, white legs that levitated off of the ground. Trios of spikes were present on both sides of its head that held hair back. When the gaze from its scarlet eyes fell upon us, its calm demeanor dramatically switched to one that screamed, "I just saw a ghost!"

"Luna?" it spoke. The voice was very feminine and as soft as velvet. I glanced at Luna who dropped her pose and teared.

"R-Rose?"

"This is the Gardevoir you told me about?" I asked.

"Yeah," she sniffled, "the one who was there for me when I was abandoned."

"Gardevoir, Psychic!" Reluctantly, Rose obeyed and her eyes glowed a strange pink.

"Luna, use Protect!" On command, Luna placed herself in a protective bubble. I observed Rose further and noticed large bruises covering her body. I clenched my teeth and fists from the sight. 'This guy has some sick and twisted discipline.'

'Alex,' Luna telepathically called, 'please don't make me do this. I don't want my reunion with my friend to be like this.'

"Don't worry. Keep up Protect. I'll think of something."

"Try as you might, that Protect will fail eventually. Use Psychic again!" Rose attempted to attack again but failed due to Luna's Protect.

'Think, think. How can I get Rose's poké ball?' As if a sudden light bulb floated over my head, I came up with an idea.

"Gardevoir, Psychic again!" the trainer barked. I could see Luna becoming weaker and weaker from putting her energy into that protective bubble. I looked at the trainer and smirked.

"Raven, use Thief on this asshole!" With blinding speed, Rave closed in on the trainer, uppercutted him, and snatched Rose's poké ball from his hands. She hopped back to me and handed me the device.

"What the hell was that?!" he barked.

"This." I threw the poké ball into the air, pulled out my sword, and made a clean cut through it before it landed on the ground in two pieces.

"You asshole! Do you know what you just did?!"

"Yeah, I freed an innocent Pokémon from a tyrant."

"I don't think so." He pulled out another poké ball and prepared it for a capture. I had to come up with something on the fly or else she would just get captured again.

"Rose, Teleport!" I blurted. Rose hesitantly glanced at me and suddenly vanished from the area.

"You and your Pokémon are going to pay for that! Go, Arcanine!" The fire canine appeared and emitted a loud roar.

"Alright. Luna, use Force Palm! Raven, use Night Slash!" The two Pokémon rushed after the Arcanine and used their respective moves. The Arcanine skidded backwards from the blows and recovered after a few seconds.

"Arcanine! Quit being a bitch and use Extreme Speed followed by Fire Fang on the Lucario!" The canine began speeding towards Luna with fire lining its jaw. Before it could get too close, Luna braced herself for the attack.

"Counter!" As soon as it was in reach, Luna punched the side of its face, redirecting its path, and round house kicked it away. 'It's time to end this.' "Luna, Aura Sphere! Raven, Shadow Ball!" They both charged an orb of energy and launched them towards the weakened Arcanine. It wailed in pain as its body slid across the dirt and became limp from exhaustion.

"GOD DAMMIT!" the trainer screamed.

"Yeah," I glared at him, "that just happened. Think before you judge Luna and Raven next time. And, according to trainer rules, I believe you owe me some money."

"How about I pay you with this!" He drew a knife and lunged at me.

'Really?' I swatted his arm away and jabbed him in the stomach. He dropped his knife and doubled over in pain. I kicked the knife away and towered over him. "You're lucky you're still alive right now," I snapped. "I could have ended you in a heartbeat. I'm going to let this go, but if I catch you abusing another Pokémon or pulling off stupid shit like you did just now, I'll cut your hands off and feed them to you myself. Do I make myself clear?" In his kneeling state, he rapidly nodded and breathed heavily. "Good. Now get out of my sight." He scrambled to his feet, recalled his Arcanine, and stumbled into the forest. I sighed. "So much for peaceful."

"Wow, Alex," Raven exclaimed, "I have never seen you so angry before."

"Then you obviously missed my fight with the Water Elemental." I threw myself onto the forest floor and stared at the sky. "I seriously hope this isn't a daily thing here."

"That's kinda what you signed up for," Luna giggled.

"Really? Show me the fine print of where I signed." Luna lied down next to me and pressed her lips against mine. After breaking away, Luna gave another soft giggle.

"That's where you signed."

"I might have to get a better look at that later."

"Uh, guys? I'm still here," Raven stated.

"Well, then get over here and relax with us," I said, patting the dirt to my side. We all lied there in a blissful silence until I remembered Rose. I bolted up and prepared to blindly dash into the forest.

"I'm still here," I spun around to see the Gardevoir emerge from the trees.

"Good," I smiled. "Luna, I think it's time you and your friend caught up." Upon hearing her name, Luna sprang from the ground and embraced her long lost friend.

"I missed you so much," she sobbed.

"I missed you, too," Rose sniffled.

For the next few hours, Luna and Rose were talking to each other, catching up on their most recent events. In this time, Raven and I strolled through the forest.

"So, I have to ask," Raven said, breaking the silence, "why do you defend us so much?" I shrugged.

"I really don't know. Especially with that last trainer, I absolutely hate the idea of Pokémon being lower than humans. In all honesty, you guys should be above us. My friends and I started our travels to help others. We got the idea when I first met Luna. She told me her story and, from that moment, I wanted to help other Pokémon to prevent or stop more pain. I feel that no human has a reason to beat their Pokémon unless it is completely out of self-defense."

"Either way," she nuzzled my chest, "I really appreciate what you're doing." It was then that I actually observed how peaceful it was at that moment in time: no blaring shouts, no screams of pain, no adrenaline-pinching survival, no fighting, no anger, no fear, and no sadness. The only sound was the wind gently breezing through the forest, allowing the leaves and shrubs to shuffle along with it. The only movements were Raven and me slowly strolling through and the already said shuffling of the leaves. The only thing I saw was a land that knew what peace was. I felt only the calmest, most serene happiness I probably felt in my lifetime along with Raven's embrace. Even all of these descriptions could not possibly convey how peaceful I felt. No simile, metaphor, or analogy could easily describe how calm I was.

"This is it," I mumbled, causing Raven to give me a confused look, "this is what I want. I want people and Pokémon to experience this calming nature and I am willing to put myself in any hell to make sure that happens."

"So, this is the one that took you in?" Raven and I were startled by Rose's soft voice, breaking our peaceful trance.

"Yeah, and my life has definitely gotten better since I met him," Luna added.

"It has?" I teased.

"It sure has," she smiled, kissing me on the cheek.

"I agree," Raven stated. "His kindness and determination to us makes life worth living." I could feel myself blush from the compliments, earning a giggle from all three females. "Just don't threaten him or the ones he loves. He makes sure you see the error of your ways if you do."

"I saw that when my old 'trainer' attacked you. I actually became quite afraid after hearing your threat," Rose mumbled, looking down at the ground.

"Geez, I'm sorry," I said, scratching the back of my head. "He was the only one I meant to scare." Rose weakly smiled at my apology.

"So, big bad Alex has a soft side, huh?" Luna teased.

"That's the original me. I recently gained this angrier side from punks like that trainer."

"Speaking of trainers," Rose spoke up, "I am in need of one and I would like it to be you, Alex."

"Are you sure?"

"After hearing all of the good things about you, not to mention that you freed me from my last one, yes, I am sure." I grabbed my last empty Luxury ball, primed it for capture, and tossed it towards Rose. Like my previous captures, the ball chimed in completion. I released Rose from the ball.

"Welcome to the team," I stated. With a teary smile, she lunged for me and pulled me for a hug. Luna and Raven joined in and formed one large group hug. I slowly melted into the embrace of my team, feeling ready for any challenge.


	22. Chapter 21: Be Careful What You Wish For

**Chapter 21: Be Careful What You Wish For**

"Dominus, Metal Claw!"

"Absol, dodge and use Payback!" The shiny Disaster Pokémon evaded the Charmeleon's attack and head butted him in the side. The force of the impact caused Dominus to fall to the ground, unable to move.

"That's enough training for now," Kaarina huffed.

"Yeah, I believe a break is in order," Carrisa sighed. I watched them recall their Pokémon and head to the Center to heal up. We've been training for a while to stay in shape in case of another surprise attack by the Elementals. I focused back to my team. Luna and Raven were practicing hand-to-hand combat while I was helping Rose with her psychic capabilities.

"Alright," I started, "what is the heaviest thing you've lifted with your powers?"

"Umm… a large textbook?" she muttered.

"Okay, it's a start, but you can definitely do a whole lot better," I reassured with a smile. I proceeded to move away from her so that there was a good distance between us. "For your first bit of practice, I want you to lift me." Rose quickly gave me a shocked expression before returning her gaze to the ground.

"No. I can't do it."

"Sure you can. Just believe in yourself."

"Easier said than done. Besides, I-I don't want to hurt you."

"The focus here is not my safety. It's so that you can improve."

"O-Okay, I'll t-try." She raised her head and her eyes began to glow. I was enveloped in that same glow and slowly raised off of the ground.

"You're off to a good start. Keep it up." Soon, I skyrocketed upwards and slowly drifted back to the ground. I ran up to Rose and hugged her. "Good job. See? It wasn't that hard." She yipped with excitement and returned the gesture.

"Thank you!" she cried. "No one has ever believed in me like that before."

"That was all you. Alright, onto the next step." I returned to my spot away from her and held up my arms in an X shape. "I want you to hit me with your strongest Psychic attack." She shot me another confused look and shook her head violently.

"No, I don't want to hurt you!"

"You improving is much more important right now."

"What if I kill you?!" She was now on the verge of tears.

"You won't kill me."

"How do you know?"

"Because I trust you." She loosened her tense figure and glanced at me.

"Y-You do?" She asked as few tears rolled down her silky-white skin.

"With my life." Her eyes began to glow a pale pink color and I was suddenly struck with a burst of telekinetic energy. My arms took most of the blow, but I still slid backwards as a result of the tremendous amount of force. It wasn't until I moved my arms that I realized that she actually managed to push me twelve feet from my original spot. 'That hurt,' I thought as pain soon surfaced and pounded against my nerves.

"Are you okay, Alex?" Rose rushed to my side and began to tear up again.

"Maybe," I grunted as the pain started to throb throughout my body. My knees buckled and I collapsed. Rose began to sob at the sight of me.

"I'm sorry. I didn't want to hurt you."

"Well, I'm sorry for making you do something you didn't want to do." She fell to her knees and cried on her arms. "Don't be upset," I attempted to reassure her. "That was one hell of an attack." Her crying slowed into sniffles.

"How are you not mad at me?" she questioned. "Why aren't you beating me for my errors?"

"Well, for starters, I can barely move without feeling an intense amount of pain," I chuckled. "Secondly, you didn't do anything wrong. In fact, I should be praising you right now. You have shown some great potential today." She lifted her head and gave me a weak, teary smile.

"You're too kind to be a human," she laughed through her tears. "All humans I ever met were cruel, but, you, you're definitely not like the rest."

"Thanks, and, trust me, not all humans are cruel." She giggled and latched onto my arm. I grunted in pain, causing her to back off of me.

"S-Sorry."

"It's okay. Luna! Could you come here please?" Soon enough, Luna and Raven were by my side.

"What happened?" Luna asked calmly.

"Rose here showed me just how much of a badass she can be," I smiled.

"Intense training?" Luna smirked.

"You know it. Now, can you help me by using Heal Pulse? That Psychic attack really kicked my butt." Luna's paws hovered over my body and I slowly felt my strength recover. "That's enough training for today. Let's pack up and head to the Pokémon Center."

We managed to reach the Center, healed up, and went to our room. We've spent quite a while in Kirkwood and almost forgot our trip to South America until Carrisa brought it up.

"So, how much longer until we go to where I wanted to go?" she groaned.

"Just a little longer," Alejandro sighed. "You can't be too careful with these Elementals."

"I know, but I'm just sick of all of this waiting. I wish something would happen already." As if on cue, the sounds of shattering glass and screams came from outside of the building. I glared at Carrisa.

"Happy now?"

"Well, it beats sitting around." We all rushed outside to find a man and his Blaziken causing mayhem in the town. He stood about six feet, ten inches, wore a black hoodie and a pair of black pants with a flame design near the opennings that flowed in a flurry of yellows, oranges, and reds. His hair reached down to his head in an almost surfer-like hairstyle. His eyes glared a searing red that burned to look at. He and his Blaziken continued to scorch, trash, and destroyed everything in their path in a wicked manner.

"WHERE IS HE?!" he shouted, throwing his fist into a brick wall and leaving a large hole behind. "I swear on my brother's grave that I will find him and I will kill him!"

"Blaze!" his partner cried as he set the same building ablaze.

"Shit!" I exclaimed, shielding myself from the extreme heat. Alejandro stepped forward and began to command our group.

"Kaarina, get your Pokémon so we can handle those flames. Alex, Carrisa, go deal with the troublemaker." Before I began to take action, I turned to my own team.

"Okay, Raven, Rose, help anyone still in these buildings and evacuate them if possible. Make sure to maintain your own safety. Luna, you and are gonna get a sparring match." Nodding in agreement, we all rushed to complete our tasks.

"Hey!" I shouted, getting the man's attention. "Back off!" He spun around and gave me a death glare.

"So, you're the kid that murdered my brother?!" he spat. "Oh, look, you even brought your friends. I'm going to enjoy ending your life." From his hoodie, he revealed a ninjatō in the exact same style as mine. "You've got a good taste in swords," he smirked, placing himself in a defensive stance. "Let's see who truly wields it better." I unsheathed my sword and rushed after him, only to be thrown back by a Focus Punch from his Blaziken. "Oh, that's right. Ken here has a strict 'no touching the master' policy." I landed a few feet away from them, staggering to stay on my feet.

"Jolteon, Thunderbolt that overgrown chicken!" Carrisa shouted.

"Ken, Extreme Speed and Focus Punch!" As Jolteon attacked, the Blaziken sped from his spot with his own attack charged. Once he reached Jolteon, he unleashed a powerful punch, knocking Jolteon out cold in one move.

'Damn! He's strong,' I thought. "Luna, Extreme Speed and Force Palm on the Blaziken!"

"Ken, Flamethrower!" Luna readied her attack before a stream of flames were sent her way.

"Dodge, then use Aura Sphere!" Luna barely managed to dodge the flames and hurled an Aura Sphere towards the Blaziken. The blue orb collided with him before his trainer could bark another order. The Blaziken flew into a brick wall, leaving a perfect indent of himself in the wall. After a quick grunt, he stood on his feet and waited for a command.

"Close Combat on the trainer, Ken!" the man shouted. I only had a moment to move before I was barraged with kicks and punches. Dodging was impossible as each blow followed another in rapid succession. "Finish him off!" was all I heard before the Blaziken landed a powerful kick to my chest, propelling me several feet backwards onto my back. That attack left me weak and winded. In fact, I was wheezing at that point from the excruciating pain I was left in.

'Fighting types. Sometimes they kick too much ass.' I managed to flip onto my stomach and watch Carrisa attempt to fight back. With her Zhen in hand, she charged after the man, allowing her Absol to freely attack the Blaziken. The Blaziken downed the Absol before it could deal an attack but allowed Carrisa and the man to duel it out. She lashed out at hime with cuts ranging from high and low to jabs that kept distance between the two. He dodged and blocked each attack with ease, allowing Carrisa to tire herself out. She kept him on the run until he slipped and presented an opening. Carrisa used this opportunity to create a large gash across his chest with a quick swipe of her blade. As he knelt down in pain, Carrisa moved to finish him off but was interrupted by the Blaziken's "policy". He used Blaze Kick on her back, causing her front side to smack against the concrete. The man chuckled as he stood on his feet and towered over Carrisa.

"You know, I'm quite disappointed. You guys killed the best swordsman I know: my brother, the Water Elemental. I was expecting more from you, but that little display was pathetic." The man ordered his Pokémon to kick Carrisa onto her back. "I was planning on killing you," he glared at me, "but I think you need to know how it feels to have something close to you be taken away." He raised Carrisa and pushed her against the building next to him. He sheathed his sword and drew out a large combat knife. He stared Carrisa dead in the eye, waving the blade in her face. "Are you afraid?" he asked, placing the knife against her chest.

"Not of you or your 'family'," she growled, spitting in her face. He backed and faced away from her.

"Well, you should be." He tossed the knife into the air, spun his body around, and kicked the knife into her chest as it plunged into her heart.

"NOOOO!" I screamed, attempting to crawl towards them.

"I think we're done here. Enjoy your suffering from the Fire Elemental." He recalled his Blaziken and sent out a Charizard. "Charizard, Fly!" With a swift flap, they were gone. I managed to scramble to Carrisa and grasped her hand as she slowly bled out.

"I'm sorry," I sobbed, "I couldn't stop him."

"It's... okay..." she whispered, coughing up blood. "Just... be... sure... to... kick... his... ass..." By that point, she was just mouthing words, but I understood each one. I felt her grip on my hand loosen and saw the life in her eyes die out. Tears streamed down my face and dropped onto her lifeless body. "I'm sorry," I repeated, clutching the body of my friend. "I'm so sorry!"

* * *

Everyone gathered around Carrisa's grave. We wanted a proper funeral for her, but we could not afford one. Instead, we made our own. Everyone was in tears as we placed our dear friend into the earth.

"I'm sorry, Carrisa," I managed to say. "I wasn't strong enough to save you." The sorrow was interrupted as I heard grunting from a man dragging an acoustic piano.

"Here it is," he grunted, ceasing his movements.

"Thank you," I mumbled, "I'll pay you when we are finished here."

"Whatever." That remark sparked hare within me. I was ready to break his bones until Luna placed her paw on my shoulder.

"He's not worth it," she whispered. I returned my attention to our make-shift funeral and the people around it.

"We'll miss you, Carrisa," Alejandro muttered, placing roses on the headstone above the grave. Kaarina spoke no words. She only cried into Alejandro's chest. Jolteon and Absol sat by Carrisa's grave with somber expressions.

"I barely knew her, yet I'm going to miss her,: Raven sobbed, leaning her head on my shoulder. I faced Rose who was in tears as well.

"I'm really s-sorry f-for bringing y-you here Rose. I know that n-negative emotions are harmful to Gardevoirs."

"I-I don't m-mind," she stuttered. "After a-all, she was y-your friend." I moved towards the piano and seated myself in front of the keys. I adjusted to the placement of the notes and slowly regained my sense of flow.

"This song is for you, Carrisa," I sniffled, "to show you that you are Dearly Beloved." I then began to play Dearly Beloved from the Kingdom Hearts series. I struck each key softly and swiftly, maintaining the correct tempo and not progression. As I played, tears rolled down my cheeks and onto the earth below me. I continued to play for a good five minutes before I finished. I rose from the seat and took one last glance at my deceased friend.

'I'm sorry.'


	23. Chapter 22: Coping

**Before reading this chapter, I would like to recommend another author that writes some pretty amazing shenanigans. mockstevenh (URL: u/5517155/) has a couple stories that he has posted and I would greatly appreciate it if you checked them out. Thank you for taking the time to read up to this point!**

* * *

**Chapter 22: Coping**

'Faster.' I huffed as I continued my assault on the tree that stood before me. Not even a day passed since Carrisa was killed and my form of 'coping' was intense training. 'Faster.' I was practicing Close Combat and the tree showed that. The bark had been easily stripped off and the trunk was stained in shades of red from my bleeding knuckles. 'Faster.' My body throbbed in pain, but the events from the day before served as a reminder for why I was pushing myself. 'Faster.' My arms and legs became blurs as they struck the defenseless tree. The speed at which they moved was inhuman, but not fast enough for what I needed. 'Finish.' I hopped backwards and launched forward, throwing my fist forward. It slammed into the tree, making a large, fist-shaped indent into the side. Beads of sweat poured down my body and blood trickled along my hands, staining them a dark maroon. 'Not good enough.'

Even the immense physical pain couldn't numb the emotional trauma of watching Carrisa die before me. I knew I couldn't run from it, all there was to do was to accept it. 'It's all my fault.' I feel onto my knees and leaned my head against the mutilated tree. Tears streamed out in rivers as I wailed in sorrow. My arms hung on the sides of my torso, dangling freely. My legs could barely support myself, feeling like Jell-o that would slip at any moment. My chest expanded and contracted in irregular patterns from my cries and exhaustion. Blood slipped off of my knuckles and stained the green blades of grass below.

"I'm so sorry! I should have saved you, but I didn't. How can I keep living, knowing that you're dead because of me?!"

"Mister?" My thoughts and wailing ceased as I heard the soft squeak. I managed to spot the little Zorua through my tears. "Mister, why are you crying?" My wailing may have stopped, but I continued to sniffle.

"My body hurts," I managed to say.

"Mommy says lying is bad," he stated in a matter-of-fact tone. I gave a weak chuckle from his comment.

"I'm crying because my friend is dead because of me." The little Zorua shook his head.

"No it's not. Mommy said that a bad person took away your friend. You're not bad, you're good." If I wasn't so damn weak, I would have snuggled that little fur ball to death. My face formed a weak smile, a lone tear rolling down my cheek.

"Thank you," I whispered. He nuzzled against my side.

"Please stop crying, mister. You're a good person, and good people shouldn't cry." His innocence was so heartwarming. It reminded me that there was still some good in this world, something to continue fighting for. I managed to scoop him up, earning a slight "eep" from him, and scratched behind his ears.

"You're one of the greatest little fur balls I've ever met," I chimed. He squirmed and giggled in my grasp. With my strength finally back, I stood on my feet and placed the Zorua on top of my head. "Let's go find your mommy," I chuckled.

"Onward, minion!" he squealed, patting my head. I jogged through the forest, enjoying the squeals and laughter of my passenger. Any sorrow, anger, and negativity melted away from the joy that emanated off of the little being. Eventually, we found Luna, Raven, and Rose.

"There you are!" Raven exclaimed, plucking the Zorua off of my head. She nuzzled and played with him, receiving even more laughter.

"Where have you been?" Luna asked, directing the question towards me. I raised and showed my hand to her, bloodstained with open wounds.

"Coping," I replied. She took my hand and examined it.

"What were you doing?!"

"Proving that inanimate objects can fight back." My smart-aleck remark was responded with a stern and serious look. "I was practicing Close Combat, and this was the result."

"Why were you doing that?"

"Because I don't want to make the same mistake twice."

"That was not your fault, Alex."

"Yeah, Zorua kinda explained that. I just refuse to accept it. Carrisa was just a few feet away from me when she was stabbed."

"And, in the condition you were in, you couldn't do anything about it."

"That's why I was practicing. I don't want that same event to happen again."

"It won't happen again."

"How do you know?"

"STOP!" We were both startled by Rose's sudden outburst. "Alex, the Fire Elemental killed Carrisa, not you! Don't put the blame on yourself! You're going to kill yourself if you keep this up!" I was actually fearful of Rose. She rarely spoke, but that lecture was quite the shock. Soon after, she returned to her shy self. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't-"

"No need to be sorry," I assured. "If anything, I needed a wakeup call. Luna, I'm really sorry. I just don't want to lose anyone else, especially you."

"I know you won't let that happen," she contently hummed. "Just stop pushing yourself so much."

"Then what should I do? If I shouldn't train to improve, what is an alternative?"

"Didn't you used to draw?"

"Yeah, but I don't have a picture or something to go off of. I don't put something from my mind onto paper. I need to see it."

"Well, you have us," Rose suggested.

"Yeah, but I don't think you want to stay still for a few hours."

"Hold on." Luna ran off towards camp and rushed back with a camera. "Take a picture of us, then draw it." After gathering Raven and Zorua, I had them, along with Luna and Rose, pose for a picture. Once I took the photo, I showed it to everyone else.

"Hmm. There's something missing," Raven stated.

"Yeah, something major," Rose added.

"And what would that be?" I asked in confusion.

"You, silly!" Luna exclaimed. "C'mon!" She grabbed my wrist and dragged me to the center of our little group.

"Who's going to take the picture?"

"I'm on it!" Rose's eyes glowed and caused the camera to levitate in front of us.

"Everyone say Clefairy!" Raven announced. Once the photo was taken, I looked it over. It was perfect. Raven was on the left side with Zorua popping out of her mane and hugging Luna's side. Rose was on the right with her eyes giving a faint pink glow while she was huggin my side. Finally, Luna and I were standing side by side with our heads leaning against each other.

"Alright. Give me a few hours and I should be done," I stated.

Night came around when my drawing was completed. I held the two images for comparison and noticed that mine was almost perfectly identical without color.

"It looks great," Luna said, startling me.

"I just wish I could draw this from scratch," I mumbled.

"You did, and it's fantastic."

"There is one thing still missing, something that this picture just isn't showing."

"And that would be?" I surprised her by planting my lips onto hers.

"It doesn't show my love for you," I smirked.

"There's the Alex I was looking for," Luna smiled.

"That was refreshing, but I still miss her."

"We all do Alex, but we need to move on."

"Yeah." I stared down at my drawing. "At least I have a wonderful family to help me through it."


	24. Chapter 23: Greetings From South America

**Chapter 23: Greetings From South America**

"Are we all set?" Kaarina asked, packed and ready to go.

"Almost," I stated, pulling out the camera. "One more thing before we leave. Alejandro, get over here."

"Yeah?"

"Get in the photo," Kaarina giggled. The photo that was taken revealed all three of us standing in the Kettle Moraine Forest, side by side with wide smiles.

"Alright, let's head out." We arrived at the airport and took the side entrance like before. I gave the pilot a call and let him know that we were on our way.

"By the way," he added, "I received a call from my boss about your furry friends. He wants them in their poké balls during the flight."

I let out a loud groan. "Alright," I sighed, "thanks for the heads up." I hung up and faced everyone else. "Bad news. Pokémon have to stay in their poké balls during the flight." Several groans escaped everyone's mouths. "I know. I don't like it either."

"See you when we get there," Raven said, grabbing her ball and placing herself inside. Rose had a look of disappointment, but said nothing as she did the same. Luna gave me a hesitant look before picking up her ball.

"I'm sorry," I frowned before she disappeared.

"Excuse me mister." I looked down to see Zorua tugging on my pants. "Where do I go?"

"Has your mom taught you any illusions yet?"

"Yeah!" he squealed, wagging his red tail rapidly. "Mommy has taught me lots of stuff about those!"

"Has she taught you how to turn into clothes?" His ears and tail drooped.

"No," he whimpered. I dug into my bag and pulled out a baseball cap.

"Want to try?"

"Okay!" he perked up. He enveloped himself in a purple glow as he transformed into a dark gray and red baseball cap.

"That works," I shrugged. "Try to keep that up for the flight." I placed the "cap" on my head and walked into the jet.

"Alrighty my friend, where to?" the pilot chimed.

"Carrizo, Chile."

"That far south? Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"Alright. We should be there in twelve hours." We took our seats and took off towards South America.

* * *

"Sorry to interrupt your sleeping, but we're about an hour away from Carrizo?" I slowly adjusted to the light peaking through the window as I groggily woke up.

"Thank you," I yawned, stretching my arms and legs. I felt a slight stirring on my head and remembered the little one that was supposed to be in disguise. Instead, he was curled on my head, snoozing away.

"Don't worry about that," the pilot chuckled. "If my boss can't see it, I didn't." I relaxed and stood up to wake up the others. Before I could get to the others, the plane violently shook, causing me to hold onto the seats to maintain balance.

"Turbulence?" I grunted.

"No," the pilot replied. The plane shook again, throwing me onto the floor. Alejandro and Kaarina finally woke up, but seemed unaware of the situation.

"What's happ-" The plane's shaking interrupted Alejandro's yawn.

"Don't know," I said, "but I might have an idea." The side of the plane was torn open, revealing the wing and the source of the problem. The Air Element, riding her Staraptor, gave an evil grin once she spotted us.

"Miss me?!" she shouted, somehow keeping up with the plane. "Staraptor, Air Slash!" The Predator Pokémon let loose on the wing of the plane, cutting it clean off. The plane tilted to the side and rapidly descended.

"Kaarina, get Eskall and fly out of here with Alejandro!" I commanded.

"But Eskall's just a Pidgey! He can't carry us!"she retorted.

"Trust me, he'll carry you guys! Now go!"

"But-"

"No 'buts', go!" Hesitantly, Kaarina called her Pidgey and grabbed Alejandro's wrist before jumping. "Alejandro! Hand me Carrisa's chained kunai!" Fumbling with his bag, he managed to find the item and tossed it to me.

"Good luck!" he shouted before he and Kaarina jumped out of the side of the plane.

"Alright, Air Elemental. Let's finish what we started." I began swinging the kunai before launching it at the Elemental. With the amount of strength I placed into it, the knife managed to ignore air resistance and puncture the Staraptor. Without thought, I jumped out of the side of the plane and brought the two with me. I yanked on the chain and brought the Staraptor closer to me.

"What the hell are you doing?!" she screamed as we fell towards the earth.

"Something I should have done when we first met," I growled. I grabbed the wailing bird's neck and snapped it like a twig.

"What the hell?!" The Air Elemental reached for her poké ball, but I stopped her by grabbing her wrist. With my other hand, I retrieved the kunai.

"Have a great flight!" I shouted before I jammed the knife into the bottom of her jaw. Once she stopped struggling, I pushed away from her and continued my free fall, watching the South American rainforests coming closer and closer. 'Well, I'm gonna die.'

"AHHHHH!" I turned and saw Zorua flailing around as he too descended towards the earth. I glided to him and clutched him in my arms.

"I'm sorry, Zorua," I sobbed. My grip tightened the further we fell, never wanting to let go as we waited for our demise.

* * *

"Mister! Mister, wake up!" My eyes slowly fluttered open to see Zorua padding at my chest. I slowly looked around to find an abundance of tropical trees and vegetation along with a muddy, leaf-littered floor.

"Am I dead?" I whispered as I slowly took in my surroundings.

"No! I saved us!" Zorua squealed, bounding around.

"How?"

"Mommy taught me how to change into a big blue bird! So, I flew us here!" I lifted my hand and pet him.

"I owe you big time," I chuckled. He licked my face as I slowly sat up.

"You've been sleeping a lot. It was bright, now it's dark." I realized what he meant. When we were falling, it was day time. Now, it was late at night. "Mister, where's my mommy?"

"Oh, right." I pulled the three poké balls from my side and released the Pokémon within.

"We're here?" Luna asked.

"No, but we're in quite a pickle," I sighed.

"Why is that?" Raven questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"The plane crashed and we're miles from where we were going."

"Oh my! What happened?" Rose asked frantically.

"While you girls were in your poké balls, the Air Elemental attacked us. Kaarina and Alejandro managed to escape. The Air Elemental, not so much. Zorua and I were in free fall and he saved us by using his illusions."

"My baby boy saved us!" Raven chimed, plucking Zorua out of my lap.

"Are you alright?" Rose asked, kneeling next to me.

"Not really. The thought of dying wasn't fun and still haunts me. Anyways, we need to move."

"Not yet," Luna stated. "You need to rest."

"I've rested long enough from my black out. Now let's mo-" I no longer had control of my body and saw Rose's eyes glow. "I'm not going to win this one am I?"

"No," they stated in unison.

"Fine. Bed time it is." I was released from the psychic grip and lied down on the ground.

"Where's the tent?" Raven asked.

"With the rest of the tent. Now come here," I said, patting the ground next to me. Everyone gathered around me and lied on the ground. "Good night, everyone."

"Good night, Alex."


	25. Chapter 24: An Emotional Jungle

**Chapter 24: An Emotional Jungle**

"Do you know where you're going?" Luna panted.

"No," I replied, "but I'd rather keep moving than stay in one spot." We were hacking and slashing our way through the rainforest for a few days and managed to get lost almost immediately. "Hopefully I can see some sunlight soon." The thick canopy of each tree prevented a good majority of sunlight, leaving most of the ground level in darkness.

"How much longer until we reach town?" Raven whined. "I'm tired of all this walking."

"Do you want to relax in your poké ball?" I sighed.

"On second thought, walking isn't so bad."

"Mommy!" Zorua whined, emerging from his mother's mane, "I'm hungry!"

"Food break?" I asked, turning to my team. In their exhausted states, they all nodded in response. "Alright. Luna, Raven, check the trees for fruits and such. Rose, come with me." With a simple nod, Rose levitated towards me, and we continued through the forest.

The walk was silent, which made the trip unbearably awkward.

"So," I started, breaking the silence, "how are you feeling today?"

"Fine," she simply replied.

"Okay." More silence. "Have you made any progress with your psychic abilities?"

"Besides our training about a week ago, not really."

"Ah okay." 'This sucks. I want her to feel welcome, but this small talk is getting nowhere.'

"I'm sorry," she said, breaking my train of thought. "I'm just not used to interacting with humans."

"Oh. Does it have to do with your previous trainer?" She stopped and slowly nodded. A few tears slipped down her pure white face and onto the leaf-littered floor. "I-I'm sorry," I stuttered, "I d-didn't mean to upset you." She stood there and let tears pour out of her scarlet eyes, shaking violently but remaining silent. I reacted in the most common and overused way by embracing her. I thought this would help since it has in the past and she is the Embrace Pokémon. She had a similar situation as Luna as her chest spike made the hug slightly awkward. Nevertheless, she returned the gesture and continued her river of tears onto my shoulder.

"It was terrible!" she sobbed. "No matter what I did, no matter how hard I tried, no matter where we were, he always found some reason to punish me!" Her embrace became tighter as she continued. "Then there were times when he... when he..."

"Stop," I said calmly. "You don't have to say anymore." She sobbed and cried onto my shoulder as I did what I could to comfort her. "Listen, I am so sorry that this happened to you. I would never, EVER want someone to go through what you did. I promise you that I will never force you to do anything I don't want you to do. I may encourage but not force. I promise that I will not put you through any hell like the one you've been through. I promise to keep you safe no matter what." Rose's sobbing eventually slowed into soft sniffling as she became calmer. We stood there in each other's embrace while the breeze rustled the trees and brought some serenity.

"Are you sure you're a human?" Rose smiled through her tears. "There's no human that can be this kind."

"Well, I guess I make that exception." We broke our hug, but I lifted her chin to look into her eyes. "Just remember: I care for you, Raven, and Luna. No matter what we go through, I'll always care for you girls."

"Alex?"

"Yeah?" Rose shocked me by locking her lips with mine. Her pure white lips softly pressed against mine as she held me in place. She broke away as I just stood there stunned on the spot. I was at a loss of words as she softly giggled at me.

"Thank you... for caring so much." I felt a blush form on my face as the shock kept me stunned.

"You're welcome," I mumbled. Her face also became a light shade of red as we stared at each other.

"You might want to close our mouth," she giggled. "You might catch a Butterfree like that." My head was racing with two main emotions as my heart beat faster and faster: guilt and love. Or was it lust? Either way, my head was spinning, mixed with emotions and confused as hell.

'I sure hope Luna understands.'

* * *

Night soon came around as we set a makeshift camp near a river Rose and I found earlier. I sat near the bank, watching the water flow rapidly through the forest. My thoughts were still on Rose's kiss. 'I really care for her, but I also love Luna. God! Why are emotions so complex?' I heard a cute little yawn and felt shuffling on my lap. I gave the sleeping Zorua a few pats and scratches behind his ears as he slept the night away.

"Daddy..." he mumbled, shifting his tiny body. A small smile formed on my face from watching the ball of fur peacefully sleep.

'I hope he can grow up in a calmer world and not the one we live in now.'

"Alex?" My head swiveled from the sound of my name and found Raven. "What're you doing?"

I shrugged. "Thinking."

"About what?" My heart must have skipped a beat as fear rushed through me. I paused before hesitantly replying.

"If I tell you, will you promise to keep this between us?"

"Cross my heart," she chimed, making an X motion across her chest.

"While Rose and I were out, she told me her story and abuse she went through. After our talking and comfort, she... kissed me." Raven's ears flicked, and she gave me a look of shock. "Since then, I have had conflicting emotions, the main ones being guilt and something between love and lust. I just... it's bothering me. Don't get me wrong, I love you girls, but since I've confessed to Luna, I've wanted to maintain a steady relationship with her." I took a deep breath and waited for a response from Raven. She leaned her head against my shoulder instead.

"Is that true, Alex?" she whimpered, letting out tears of her own. "You really love us?" I wrapped my arms around her and leaned my head onto hers.

"Of course I do," I chuckled weakly. "You girls give me a reason to keep fighting." I sat there with Raven, letting our tears flow in the darkness of the night. Without warning, she moved her head and pulled mine towards her, giving me a passionate kiss. I, again, sat there dumbfounded. Her emotions must have been controlling her as she continued the kiss for what felt like an eternity. When she broke away and looked into my eyes, she hid her face in shame.

"I-I'm sorry, A-Alex," she whimpered with tears rolling down her cheeks. "P-please don't hurt me."

"Why would I want to hurt you?"

"Because you want to stay faithful to Luna and you're already having emotional problems from Rose's kiss and I'm probably making them worse from my kiss."

"So? That doesn't mean I'm going to hurt you." Her sniffling was dramatic as she turned to face me.

"You're not mad at me?"

"Of course not. I'm not mad at any of you."

"B-but you said you wanted to be with Luna."

"While I do want a steady relationship with Luna, that does not mean I will totally abandon your feelings. Sure, I may get confused, but I don't want you, Rose, or Luna to ever feel like I'm ignoring you. Your kiss and Rose's kiss show exactly how you feel about me. I do greatly appreciate it, but it honestly pains me to say that I don't feel exactly the same way as you do. I do love you, please understand that." I tried my best to comfort Raven because explaining this seems to only make things worse. "I'm so sorry. I'm probably shattering your heart right now and I don't want to do that. I love you, I love Rose, and I love Luna. Breaking your heart is the last thing I want to do." Tears were flowing down her eyes as she stared into mine.

"Please," she sobbed, placing her claws on the sides of her face, "stop blaming yourself. I can understand that you can't return the same feelings I have, but when you blame yourself, it makes my heart ache. You do so much for us and place all of our problems on your shoulders. Your love that you provide is more than enough. You don't break hearts; you heal them." I grasped Raven's claws and held them between us.

"I love you Raven. Don't you ever forget that?"

"Alex! Raven!" We turned our heads and saw Luna waving her arms, calling out to us. We stumbled our way over with Zorua taking refuge in his mother's mane. A "tent" made of twigs and leaves stood before us, bound together and stable enough to take shelter in. Raven entered, but I remained outside with Luna.

"Luna, I need to talk to you for a minute." Her ears perked up as she waited patiently for me to speak. I took a deep breath and prepared myself. "You know that I love you, right?"

"Yes. And you know I love you, right?"

"Of course." I bit my lip, completely nervous about her next reaction. "What if I told you that I also love Raven and Rose?" She stood with an emotionless face.

"Are you saying you don't want to be with me anymore?" she asked with a shaky voice.

"No, not at all. I want to stay with you."

"Then what do you mean?"

"Well, uh... kind of like family, only much closer. Something that I can't really explain." She moved closer to me, but I turned away, too ashamed to look at her from the question. She gently brushed my cheek with her paw and brought our lips together. Her kiss melted away all fear in my heart. Something about it was different from Raven's and Rose's. Either way, the passion just melted me away. While Raven and Rose are wonderful girls, Luna stood out far beyond. Her love, her touch, they had me weak and made me feel truly alive. All that mattered was that I was here with Luna and she loved me. We broke away after about a minute which felt way longer in comparison.

"I don't care, Alex," she stated, staring into my eyes. "As long as I'm with you and you're with me." My heart fluttered and the weight on my shoulders was lifted. We entered the tent and lied on the floor, wrapped in each other's arms and drifted into a peaceful sleep.


	26. Chapter 25: Weed Whacking and Reunion

**Hey, everyone! Yes, this story is going on and, yes, I'm still alive. School has just gotten in the way and typing this has begun to get a whole lot slower. Anyways, on with the story! :D**

* * *

**Chapter 25: Weed Whacking and Reunion**

This forest felt like it would never end. We continued hacking our way through the dimly lit rainforest in hopes of finding a city, town, or just people in general. The journey has been extremely boring, but luckily, I had my phone with me. I retrieved my ear buds and used them to listen to the music I had stored. It provided me with a change of pace over the silence and constant panting of exhaustion.

"Are we there yet?" Luna asked, panting and sweating intensely.

"Nope," I simply stated. "But I'm not going to stop now." Luna's and Raven's ears perked up and the two began tensing up and becoming more defensive.

"Grunts," Raven growled. I, too, became defensive, crouching in the greenery that surrounded us.

"Which way?" I whispered, maintaining a low profile. Luna closed her eyes and let her aura guide her.

"That way," she pointed, leading to a large, sun-filled opening.

"Stay low and keep quiet," I ordered.

"What's happening?" Zorua asked.

"Zorua," Raven whispered in a motherly voice, "mommy needs you to be quiet. There are bad people here."

"Okay, mommy." He hid back into her mane.

"How many are ther, Luna?"

"Six humans and seven Pokémon."

"Okay, let's-"

"Wait." There was a short pause before Luna spoke again. "There's another human, but he's dying. His aura his slowly slipping." I observed the situation and found that the clearing was created from a downed plane, the same plane that I was in just a few days ago. Its steel frame was warped and mangled as if a wild animal tore it apart. The cockpit was still intact, well more so than the rest of the plane. Its side was torn open and I could clearly see the pilot who was impaled near the waist. He was struggling to breathe and blood slowly left the wound.

'How is he not dead?'

"The wound is fresh," Rose explained.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Even from this distance, I can see into his memories and that event happened earlier today."

"Damn. Alright, we need to act now. Luna, Raven, use the area to stay hidden before using Aura Sphere and Shadow Ball. Rose, you and I are going for the pilot. Move out." Luna and Raven disappeared almost instantly before they launched Aura Spheres and Shadow Balls at the unsuspecting grunts. "Let's go, Rose." We dashed from out hiding spot towards the cockpit of the plane. The pilot looked up and struggled as he attempted to smirk.

"I never thought I'd see you again," he wheezed.

"I'm going to get you out of here," I assured.

"Heh, no you won't. This wound is too deep to fix. No sir, I'm gonna bleed to death here."

"No, I'm not going to let that happen."

"Kid, this sheet of metal ain't going nowhere. I suggest you head to town and leave me here."

"No! I'm not going to leave you!"

"Torterra, Razor Leaf!" I heard the command and ducked instantly. I looked up and saw that the pilot was struck in the arm by the attack.

"Run kid," he whispered. Rage filled my very core as I turned to face my attacker. The Grass Elemental, with a machete in his hand, was standing beside his now Torterra.

"Wow, you are one tough fucker to kill, you know that?" he smirked. My teeth gritted at the very sight of him as rage continued to fill me. "Now the question is what happened to my sister?"

"She's dead," I growled, "probably nothing more than red mush on dirt at this point."

"You killed her?! Oh-ho-ho, you're really gonna die now."

"Rose, Psychic!" The Grass Elemental and his Torterra flew backwards from the brunt of the telekinetic force. Although it was an instant knockout on the Torterra, the Grass Elemental stood up and charged after me.

"I'm gonna kill you!" He swung at me once he was in reach, but I blocked his weapon with my own.

"No, you won't." With my free hand, I open-palmed his chest to push him away from me. I had forgotten that my ear buds were still in my ears as Warrior by Disturbed fuelled my fire.

_I am now_

_An instrument of violence_

_I am a vessel of invinciblity!_

I slashed at him constantly, leaving little room for his own attacks.

_I cannot_

_Leave this undecided_

_Stepping down to battle another day!_

He finally countered one of my swings and lashed out at me, putting me on defense.

_Remember_

_Me for all time_

_This determination is a vital part of me!_

His attacks were sluggish and large in power, but slow and easy to dodge. I would side step him and land a blunt blow on him, causing him to falter.

_Surrender_

_Now or be counted_

_With the endless masses that I will defeat!_

_C'mon, bring it_

_But don't sing it_

_Better believe it!_

_Broken down_

_'Til your hope has died!_

He lunged for me but missed as I grabbed his wrist and twisted it, causing him to wail and drop his machete.

_Beat down_

_'Til the victory's mine!_

I kicked him dead center, creating a gap between us.

_Stand up_

_And show me some pride!_

He unsheathed a combat knife with his other hand, huffing to catch his breath. He then charged after me, emitting a loud battle cry.

_And now_

_Are you ready?!_

_I'm one with the warrior inside_

_My dominance can't be denied_

_Your entire world will turn into a battlefield tonight_

He lunged at me with his knife. I brought my sword up and made a diagonal slash. The attack connected and cut through his flesh and bones. Midway through the cut, I stared into his eyes. Time seemed to have frozen at that moment as I stared my victim down.

_As I look upon you_

_Through the warrior's eyes now_

_I can see the fear that will ensure my victory this time!_

While our gazes were locked onto one another, I saw an inner fire within him die out as the cold steel ripped him open. The sight made me shiver as I not only took this man's life, but I also saw his very soul leave his physical being. Blood gushed out of his torso as he stood in place for a few seconds before collapsing. His chest was soaked in shades of red and exposed the inner workings of the human body. When I glanced down, I saw his knife protruding from my side. Blood slowly trickled from the wound and dropped onto the blood soaked earth.

'Fuck! Could things get any worse?' The sounds of galloping filled my ear drums as I turned to see the Elemental's Sawsbuck rushing for me. 'Why does this happen to me?' I waited for death to come, only to hear a loud bang and birds escaping into the sky. I looked up and saw the Sawsbuck dead on the ground with a bullet wound through its skull. In the distance, the pilot held a Beretta M9 in his hand with smoke escaping the barrel. His arm soon dropped along with his sidearm and head. I stumbled towards him and saw Rose shaking violently.

"He died, Alex," she sobbed, "right in front of me and I couldn't do anything about it. I felt his emotions escaping his body, leaving nothing behind."

"Rose, I'm sorry." I scooted towards her and winced as the knife remained in my body. She shot up from her spot and glided towards me.

"Alex, you're hurt!"

"I know, and the feeling isn't all too great."

"Okay, I can use Heal Pulse, but we need to removed the object." I only nodded as I grunted from the continuous pain. She gripped the handle and paused. "I'm going to pull the knife on three. One... two-" She yanked the knife from my side and dropped it immediately. I, on the other hand, screamed as the steel blade tore a bleeding hole in my side. My knuckles became white and my palms strained as the excruciating pain pounded against me. Rose's Heal Pulse didn't help either. It forced my flesh to fuse together to seal shut, and my body didn't like the speed at which I was healing at. After several moments of agonizing pain, my wound sealed and all blood loss ceased.

"Wow, I didn't know I could lose so much blood," I huffed. "Are you okay, Rose?" She shook her head violently as tears formed in her eyes. "Rose. Rose, look at me. I can't say I know exactly how you feel at this point, but I do know that whatever it might be is terrible. Deaths like this one are what I want to prevent." She didn't respond in any way. Her tears flowed as she gripped my arm, looking for some sort of comfort. "I truly don't like this either. I know that taking a life is wrong, but I also know that something needs to be done about these Elementals. They're beneath-the-earth scum like your previous trainer that need to be taken care of. They bring nothing but pain, and I'm willing to go through it so that no one else has to." Her grip tightened around my arm as she sniffled away. "If you want to stop traveling with me, I understand."

"No," she muttered, "I'm staying with you. I want to help you put a stop to these people." I placed my hand on her head and kissed her forehead, trying to comfort her the best I could.

"I'm sorry, Rose. I didn't mean to force you into this."

"You're not forcing anything on me. I am making the choice to go with you."

"Just let me know if anything is too much for you, and I'll do what I can to pull you out, okay?" She nodded and maintained her grip on me. "C'mon. Let's go see if the others are okay." With Rose still clinging to my shoulder, we stepped out of the cockpit and found bodies of knocked-out grunts. Luna and Raven were panting heavily, regaining their strength after a long fight. "And to think that some people say that humans are superior," I scoffed, stepping over the abundance of bodies.

"That was almost too easy!" Luna panted, kicking one of the unconscious grunts.

"I'll say," Raven laughed, "I haven't fought like this in ages. It felt good."

"Well, let's head out. Even though you girls broke every bone in their bodies, I don't want to be here when they wake up. Before we leave, though, I need to grab something." I ran back to the plane and grabbed the Beretta M9 along with the spare clip. "Sorry," I whispered to the pilot, "but I'm going to need this more than you." After putting the safety on, I placed the gun in my back pocket and rushed back to the group. "Alright, let's roll."

"Which way do we go?" Luna asked. A sudden burst of wind flowed around us and a shadow was cast upon us. I drew my ninjatō and stood ready for a fight until a familiar set of voices rang.

"Hey, Alex! We finally found you!"

"Alex! It's good to see you again!"

The voices were hard to hear over the sound of heavy wings beating, but I knew exactly who they belonged to.

"Kaarina! Alejandro!" I waved up at them as they descended on the back of a Charizard. They landed with a loud thud and leapt off. "It's nice to see you too, Dominus," I smiled, patting him on the head.

"Char!" he roared.

"Wow, evolution hit hard."

"How've you been?" Kaarina chimed.

"It was okay at first, but then we ran into these guys." I pointed towards the field of grunts.

"I see," Alejandro noted. "I also see that you found the plane. The pilot, is he okay?" I shook my head. "He was a good man," he sighed. "It's a shame he's no longer with us."

"Hey, how's Shaymin?" I asked, trying to change the topic. At the mention of his name, Shaymin hopped off of Alejandro's shoulder and bounded towards me. Instead of his regular hedgehog-like form, he had an appearance similar to that of a small reindeer. "I see that you managed to find Gracidea flowers," I chuckled.

"Yeah, each Pokémon Center has them up for sale now. Ever since, we've defeated each opponent thrown our way. He even took on a fully-grown Venusaur on his own."

"Well, it's good to hear that you're improving," I smiled, petting Shaymin.

"Thanks," he chimed, "but you really have to thank Alejandro. I wouldn't be where I am now without him."

I was shocked to actually hear something besides a squeak from him. "He talks?"

"Yeah, I recently taught him to. He caught on almost instantly."

"Well, that's pretty much expected from a legendary pokémon."

"Wait, you said you went to a Pokémon Center, right?" Luna asked.

"Yeah, it's in the city not too far from here."

"How far exactly?" I questioned.

"Not that far, maybe a 30 to 40 minute flight."

"And by walking?"

"About another day or so."

"Let's go then." We made our way to town, following Alejandro's and Kaarina's lead. As we trekked through the forest, Rose gripped my side. "What's wrong, Rose?" She didn't respond. "Is it still about the pilot?" She slowly nodded her head. "It's okay, Rose. I'm here for you."

"Promise me," she muttered. "Promise me that you won't leave." I leaned my head so that it rested on hers.

"I promise."


	27. Chapter 26: Carrizo

**Chapter 26: Carizzo**

The city of Carizzo had the look of almost any tourist city you could find: clean, paved roads, cafés and bars as far as the eye could see, buildings that were graffiti free, overall, well maintained infrastructure, and let's not forget the friendly locals. We strolled through the streets, watching cars bustle by and taking in the sights.

"Wow, this place is beautiful," Luna stated as she marveled the city. Although its main purpose was to attract tourists, I do have to admit that it was beautiful. To separate on-going and on-coming traffic, small plots of earth held fresh and healthy palm trees and bushes. Outside of each window was some small garden, whether it was a single potted plant or a row of watered and colorful plants. Even though the buildings were graffiti free, beautiful mosaics and paintings were plastered onto the sides and easily complimented the buildings' palette of colors. To top it all off, the ocean. It was a pristine assortment of blues, greens, and whites that slid themselves along the sandy beach, turning the bright, beige sand into cooked, brown mud.

"Alex, come with me." Luna grasped my wrist and dragged me to the shoreline. She released her grip and stood just before the point where the water met the beach. "Isn't it beautiful?" she chimed, gazing off into the distance. Instead of following her gaze, I saw another beautiful sight before me. Her navy blue, black, and cream fur shined brightly in the sunlight and slowly waved as the ocean air breezed past us. Her aura sensors simply flowed in the wind along with her silk scarf. Her ruby eyes sparkled like the glistening ocean before us.

"You have no idea," I sighed contently. We continued our walk through the city, occasionally browsing a vendor's wares and sight-seeing. We eventually ended up at the Pokémon Center. After a quick talk with my team, I recalled Luna, Raven, and Rose and gave the poké balls to the Nurse Joy.

"Sir, your pokémon are now fully healed," she smiled, handing the three Luxury balls back to me.

"Thank you. Also, I'd like to book a room."

"Of course! How long is your stay?"

"One week."

"Alright, here's your room key." With a quick "thank you", we sped through the Center and glanced at the walls to find our room.

"302... 303... 304... Ah! Here it is. 305" The door opened up to a room very identical to the one back at Kirkwood. The only difference was the window that showed an open view of the ocean. We all rushed inside and lounged about. I, for one, was very excited to actually sleep on a bed again. Even though it was midday, I flopped onto the mattress and let my eyes flutter shut.

* * *

"Alex! Alex, wake up!" My eyes slowly opened to reveal an impatient trio of girls.

"Hmph! About time you woke up," Raven pouted.

"How long was I out?" I yawned, stretching my limbs as I rose from my soft cloud.

"It's six-ó-clock right now," Rose stated. "We were planning on going to the party happening on the beach tonight."

"Alright. What time does it start?"

"It actually just started." Luna pointed out the window and I saw a sea of people gather on the beach.

"Let's go then."

"Not yet. You're leaving your sword here," Luna commanded.

"Are you serious?"

"Alex, it's a party. You need to loosen up."

"It's kind of hard to after a few attacks from the Elementals." Luna sat down next to me and placed a tender paw on my shoulder.

"This is exactly why we want you to go. This whole journey made you forgot what it's like to have fun. We appreciate what you're doing, but we want you to be happy, too."

"... Fine." I reached for my trusty ninjatō with one hand and released the snap with my other. With an audible click, the tension of the strap disappeared as my hand held the weight of my sword. I brought it in front of me and observed it. The blade shone brightly in the remainder of the sunlight, reflecting almost all of it off its fine, steel surface. The handle, however, appeared worn down. What used to bed black fabric now had the appearance of medical bandages: maroon to the core and stripping off of the handle. I reluctantly placed my sword next to the nightstand and glanced upon it one last time.

"Okay," I sighed with a shaky voice, "let's go." We stepped out of the Center and made our way through the city to the beach. While the streets were filled with life and carefree happiness, I dragged my feet and sulked in a never-ending nervosity that resonated from my very being. My eyes constantly surveyed my surroundings, looking out for danger. My legs trembled slightly, anticipating the moment when I make the decision of fight or flight. My body tensed heavily, prepared to release adrenaline and move rapidly in case of such an event. Luna caught on and slipped her paw into my hand. In an instant, all tension ceased as my fingers gently caressed the fur that covered her paws.

'It's alright, Alex,' Luna telepathically stated. 'I'm here.' Her voice, whether it was from her mouth or her mind, was so soothing that even the softest of materials could not compare. Once we arrived, Raven and Rose became lost in the crowd and danced to their hearts' desires.

"Aren't you going to join them?" I muttered as my tension recollected itself. She firmly gripped my hand and stared softly into my eyes.

"While that does sound fun, I'd rather spend this time with the one I love," she chimed. My heart fluttered from her statement.

'She sure knows how to make you fall for her over and over again.' The music that was blasting switched to Alligator Sky by Owl City as Luna and I slowly swayed to and fro despite the upbeat tempo.

_Where was I when the rockets came to life?_

_And carried you away into the Alligator Sky?_

_Even though I'll never know what's up ahead,_

_I'm never letting go, I'm never letting go!_

_Remember to breathe, because it'll take your breath away,_

_When the engines cough, and you blast off._

_Ignite the night with a firecracker flash._

Upon that last line, a fire cracker set off into the sky and exploded into a display of colors and images that provided beautiful results. We both giggled and continued our dance. My fingers interlocked with her paws and her body was much closer to mine, providing me with a sense of security and intimacy that I never felt before.

_Remember to live, 'cause you're gonna be thrilled to death,_

_When the stars collide and your eyes grow wide._

_Take it in with your breath against the glass._

Any tension I felt melted away as the night continued. Luna was also enjoying herself, causing her to smile so brightly that it made my heart soar.

_Remember to dream because it's gonna be a starry night,_

_Over every town, if you look down._

_So harmonize with the singing satellites._

_Remember to scream because you're gonna be lost for words,_

_When the sparks erupt and they light you up._

_Dip your toes in the galaxy 'cause it's yours to explore tonight._

"Seems like someone is loosening up," Luna sang.

"It especially helps when the main cause is from the beautiful angel before me," I smiled. She gave me a small peck on my cheek and giggled softly.

_Where was I when the rockets came to life?_

_And carried you away into the Alligator Sky?_

_Even though I'll never know what's up ahead,_

_I'm never letting go, I'm never letting go!_

As the song ended, I brought Luna's face to mine and interlocked our lips in a passionate kiss. Her paws planted themselves on my cheeks to deepen the display of affection. I lightly pulled away and locked my eyes onto Luna's.

"I love you, Luna."

"I love you, too, Alex."


	28. Chapter 27: Dancing With Lightning

**Hey everyone! Sorry it's been a while since I last updated my story. School and some personal problem I have been having don't really help. I ensure that this story shall continue on along with Just Another Love Story! Thanks for your patience!**

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**Chapter 27: Dancing With Lightning**

My eyes slowly fluttered open as I awoke from my slumber. For the first time in days, I actually felt well rested as I continued to lie in bed. A smile formed on my face as I saw a familiar blue, black, and cream-colored beauty peacefully sleep beside me. Her arms were wrapped around my body, covering me with warming security. Her chest rose and fell with each soothing breath while her ruby eyes were veiled with slumber. I gave her a small peck on her snout, causing her to smile and tighten her embrace. I managed to worm my way out of her hold and sat on the edge of the bed. As I stretched my limbs awake, my phone rumbled and flashed.

'Who's texting me this early?' I grabbed my phone and found a message from my online buddy, Josh.

_"Hey."_

With a few strokes, a replied to his message. _"Hey."_

_"Check out my shiny Umbreon!"_ The picture I received was of a jet-black, four-legged, fox-like animal with sapphire rings on its body.

_"That's awesome!"_

_"I know, right?! Anyways, where have you been? I haven't seen you online in a while."_

_"Actually, I have been travelling the world."_

_"Where are you right now?"_

_"Carrizo."_

_"South America?!"_

_"Yeah."_

_"You should have taken me with you! There's an international Pokémon competition today in Carrizo!"_

_"There is? I'll have to let my friends know."_

_"Are you going to sign up?"_

_"No, but I know my friends will want to."_

_"Do you have your own pokémon?" _I gave an amused huff and sent him the photo of my little family.

_"Does this answer your question?"_

_"How the hell do you have them?!"_

_"I've been travelling. Let me tell you, they are the best thing to ever happen to me."_

_"That's cool. Is that a sword on your back?"_

_"Yeah, a ninjatō."_

_"That's badass. Send me pictures of the competition while you're down there."_

_"I'll see what I can do. Take care of that Umbreon."_

_"I will. Later."_

_"Later."_ I slipped the phone into my pocket and rose onto my feet.

'An international Pokémon competition? This should be interesting.' I felt a set of furry paws hug my midsection from behind.

"Good morning," Luna yawned.

"Good morning," I smiled.

"So, what's the plan today?"

"I just got word that there's going to be a Pokémon Competition starting today, so we might go see that."

"Are you going to enter?"

"Nah, I wouldn't be able to compete with other coordinators, but the others might."

"So, we're just gonna watch others flaunt their stuff?"

"Even so, I'm pretty sure we could still kick their asses."

"Hmm, sounds like fun."

"We'll see."

* * *

The streets were flooded with people of many nationalities. Flags were flown, anthems were sung, and pride, overall, was flaunted. We managed to inch our way through the colorful crowds to reach our destination. Somehow within the last two years, Carrizo managed to create their own Pokémon Stadium, one that allowed thousands of people to watch and multiple battles to take place. Along one of the sides of the stadium was a row of counters with a large sign that read "Registration" in a variety of languages.

"So, how exactly does a Pokémon Contest run?" Kaarina asked as we waited to register.

"It starts off as a sort of beauty pageant to see who qualifies," Alejandro explained. "Then, it moves onto the actual battles."

"Oh ok. I'm a little nervous about it, but I can't wait to compete."

"You guys will do fine," I assured, patting them on their backs. "I'm sure of it."

"Why aren't you competing?" Alejandro asked.

"Well, you're competing, so that's not even a fair game," I laughed. "Not only that, but if I made it to the actual battles, I wouldn't be able to hold myself back from helping my team when in danger."

"That makes sense," Kaarina smiled. We slowly crawled through the line, taking a few steps with each passing person. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a familiar, bright camouflaged outfit standout from the crowd. I managed to get a good look at the wearer and nearly snapped. The Elemental that disappeared on the night of the ambush stood nonchalantly in one of the registration lines. I pushed and shoved my way to her and grabbed the collar of her uniform, resisting the urge to choke her to death.

"What the fuck are you doing here?!" I snarled. A sly grin curled across her pasty white face as her icy blue eyes met mine.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm signing up for the Pokémon Competition." Her tone seemed innocent, but I could easily sense the deceit behind that snake of a tongue. I drew out a kunai knife and placed against her throat. "I wouldn't if I were you," she taunted, maintaining her devilish grin.

"Give me a damn good reason as to why I shouldn't end your pathetic life," I growled.

"If you haven't noticed, we're in a public area with people who have no idea of what's going on. All they would see is an innocent woman being murdered by a thug." I felt another growl escape my throat before I removed my knife from hers. I gave her one final shove and stormed back to Alejandro and Kaarina.

"Guys," I pointed in the direction of the Elemental, "kick her ass."

* * *

After registration, Alejandro and Kaarina set off to training and preparing for the contest. The contest itself didn't start until the day after. I watched Alejandro coordinate Shaymin and Surskit while Kaarina privately practiced. She said that she didn't want us to see her performance just yet. Alejandro continued to find combinations of move sets that he deemed plausible while I set off to the side, tapping my foot away. Restlessness overwhelmed me as my thoughts would constantly return to the fact that the Elemental was still alive.

"So, I'm guessing you signed up?" Luna spoke, startling me in the process.

"No," I muttered, continuing to tap my foot.

"Then why are you so restless?" I gave a loud, drawn out sigh.

"Because when we went to register, I saw one of the Elementals. I was this close to ending her, but I couldn't since there were other people watching who had no idea about our history. So, I let her go."

"What was she doing there?"

"She said she was signing up for the Pokémon Competition, but I could tell there was more than that." Luna crossed her arms and gave me a smirk.

"You have a plan, don't you?"

"For once, I do not," I sighed.

"C'mon, I've known you for over a year and you've always had some sort of plan. I at least know you have something in mind." I gave her a peck on the end of her muzzle.

"Do you even know how much I love you?"

"Mhm. All too well. Did I spark something in you?"

"Yep. Get Raven and Rose. This idea of mine is going to have to be a group effort."

* * *

The day of the competition arrived quicker than I thought. Alejandro and I stood outside of the entrance for the contestants, waiting for Kaarina.

"God, I'm so nervous," Alejandro stated, nervously shaking and wringing his hands together.

"Don't worry. You're going to do great," I assured, placing my hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah, I suppose. Gosh, where's Kaarina?!"

"I'm not too late am I?" Our heads swiveled and I swear you could hear our jaws drop. Kaarina wore a flowing, violet dress that stopped around her knees. Her shining, blonde hair was curled at the ends and waved down the sides of her head. She has a set of diamond ear piercings that went well with the gold chain around her neck and highlighted her ocean blue eyes. Her heels gave a bit of a height extension and clacked with each graceful step she took. One word to describe her: beautiful. Alejandro and I were left speechless as she speed walked her way to us.

"Thank you," she giggled. "Are you ready to go, Alejandro?" He broke from his trance and swiftly nodded. He held out his arm, which Kaarina gladly took, and escorted her into the stadium.

"Good luck, guys!" I shouted. Once they were inside, I called out my team. "Are you girls ready?" With an affirmative, unified nod, we entered the stadium from the viewer entrance. We stepped inside and were assaulted with screams from spectators. "Rose!" I shouted, "connect us to a telepathic link!"

'Like this?' Despite the deafening noise, I could hear Rose clearly.

'Can you girls hear me?'

'Yeah,' Luna responded calmly.

'Oh my gosh!' Raven exclaimed. 'That's so weird! I can hear you guys in my mind!'

'Alright,' I began, 'I promised Alejandro and Kaarina that I would watch their performances, so I'll do that first. You girls are going to keep an eye out for the Elemental and let me know when and where she's moving. Rose, if this telepathic link starts to put too much strain on you, cut it off. Remember, your safety comes first.' We broke off and became one with the crowd. I eventually found an empty seat within the sea of people and sat down. A performance had just ended; some kid and his Arcanine finished off with a plume of fire that dazzled the crowd.

'Psh, amateur.'

'See?' Luna chimed. 'You could have easily wiped the competition.'

'Yeah, but wait until you see Alejandro and Kaarina.' A loud voice boomed through the speakers around the stadium.

"Up next, we have Alejandro Bojorquez!" The audience gave a roaring round of applause and then ceased as Alejandro stood center stage. He called out Surskit and Shaymin, who was in his Sky Forme. He had Shaymin open up with Dazzling Gleam which brightened up the stadium and further grabbed the attention of the anticipating crowd. Once almost all attention was on him, Alejandro had Surskit use Aqua Jet around the stadium. As Surskit quickly sped across the stage, he left bubbles in his path which were popped by Shaymin's Magical Leaf attack. The bubbles burst into a variety of colors that shocked and awed everyone. Surskit even managed to get a few bubbles over those who were near the center and gently misted them in a dazzling fashion. As a finale, Surskit came back to the center, began a spinning motion, and unleashed a Bubble Beam that launched bubbles throughout the stadium. Shaymin used Seed Flare and used the shockwaves to burst each bubble, misting the crowd in sparkles of Alejandro's signature aqua color. After the color dissipated in the air, the crowd was in an uproar of applause and cheers. With a swift bow, Alejandro recalled his pokémon and walked off stage.

'Way to go, Alejandro.'

"Up next, we have Kaarina Nehring!"

'Alex,' Luna called, 'I see the Elemental.'

'Where at?'

'Off stage, near the hallway.' My gaze followed the directions she gave me and found the Elemental. She sat off to the side, patiently waiting for her name to be called after Kaarina.

'Luna, Rose, do you see her?'

'I see her,' Rose stated.

'As do I,' Raven responded with a hint of anger.

'Try to keep a cool head, Raven. I'm not too happy to see her either, but we can't just go beating the crap out of people in public.'

'Ok… Oh my gosh! Kaarina looks so beautiful!' I adjusted my gaze and saw Kaarina prance on stage with a violin in hand.

'That's different.' She called out Dominus and Eskall, who was now a Pidgeotto. Kaarina held the bottom of the violin with the crook of her neck and placed the bow against the strings. I saw the wings of Dominus and Eskall spread out as Kaarina opened up with a succession of high notes. 'Wait, I've heard this song before.' Her pokémon gave one loud flap before they initiated some dance.

'Dragon and Feather Dance,' Rose stated. 'What an excellent combination.' Soon enough, Dominus began to form a mystical glow around the performers while Eskall had light down feathers gently sway from above like flower petals in a summer breeze. Kaarina slid the bow gracefully across the violin's strings and allowed her melody to fill the stadium.

'Simple and Clean by Hikari,' Luna hummed. 'One of the many calming songs you have, Alex.' As Kaarina continued her melody, Dominus and Eskall began to flap their wings and started to fly around her in an exotic display. The feathers from Eskall's Feather Dance followed the two flying beings, encasing Kaarina in a wind tunnel of soft down. With the given display, Kaarina's performance had the crowd just begging for more. As Kaarina hit the final few notes of the song, Dominus and Eskall sped up their rotations which sped the flow of the feathers. Kaarina finished her melody and the two pokémon ceased their motions by flapping their wings powerfully outwards. The sudden change of air flow caused the feathers to fling from the center and gracefully glide down onto the audience. Kaarina and her pokémon returned to center stage and gave a graceful bow before exiting the stage. The audience gave an applause so loud that I could hardly tell if anyone was trying to telepathically reach me.

'Ngh. Alex. Head. Hurts. Can't.'

'Alright. Raven, meet me by the west stairwell. Luna, stay with Rose.' I sprang from my seat and dashed towards the stairwell. Before I continued, I saw a security guard firmly standing and keeping a watchful eye. Raven appeared and snaked her way past people towards me. "Raven, how good are your illusions?"

She looked at me and gave a sly grin. "Are you really questioning my deception abilities?"

"Well, you disguised yourself as Luna and I was able to see right through it," I chuckled. She lightly punched my arm.

"I can get us past that guard if that's what you're asking," she stated.

"Make it happen then."

"You might want to stand back." With a slight huff, Raven enveloped herself in a red and violet glow as she transformed her appearance. For a lack of better terms, she took on a more "foxy" appearance. Instead of the familiar Zoroark, a goddess stood before me. Her dark fur changed into a sleek dress that hugged the curves of her body while her claws became five-digit human hands. Her mane shaped into smooth and shiny hair that draped from her head and complimented her muzzleless, gorgeous, human-like face. "Don't you know that it's impolite to stare?" she smirked. I snapped out of my trance and watched her sway over to the guard. While I could not hear the conversation, I could obviously tell that he was hypnotized by her beauty. Hand in hand, they walked towards the bathrooms with Raven winking at me before disappearing.

I snuck past the double doors and bolted down the steps. After what seemed like thousands of steps, I poorly navigated my way through the maze-like structure, constantly reaching dead-ends and walking in circles. I blindly continued on until I found a large door that stood out from the rest. There was no handle, only an ID scanner on the side while the door itself was an ominous black steel that strangely beckoned for me to open.

"You lost, sir?" I spun around and saw a female security guard rush her way to me with her hand on her gun.

"No, ma'am. I was just, uh…"

"Relax, Alex." The guard morphed into Raven with her sly grin.

"Dammit, Raven!" I huffed. "You had me scared shitless!"

"Well, at least you didn't have to basically bed a pig," she said. "Ugh, guys are disgusting."

"Did you, really?"

"No, but I don't want to talk about it." I couldn't help but feel guilty at that. I felt my upright posture droop as that guilt spread throughout my body. "Don't worry. Nothing happened, and we wouldn't be down here if I didn't use my illusions."

"I suppose. Anyways, did you get his-"

"Way ahead of you." Raven held up a ring of keys along with the guard's ID badge.

"You're good," I smirked.

"Damn right I am," she laughed. "So, where are we off to?" I stared at the mysterious door and gestured towards it. "I thought we were going for the Elemental."

"We are, but there's something about this door that's just begging for me to open it."

"You know that curiosity killed the cat, right?"

"Did that cat have a sword and a Zoroark with them?" Raven rolled her eyes and placed the ID in front of the scanner. A small ping of acknowledgement was given and the door quickly slid open. The room itself was too dark to see into, but it left a stench that assaulted my nostrils horribly. We stepped into the room, prompting the door to slide shut. The stench only became stronger and more recognizable: dying flesh, bodily fluids, feces, dried blood, and death overall. I had to cover my nose to prevent gagging. I felt around for a light switch and flipped it on. What I saw shall forever be burned into my mind.

Rusty cages lined the walls all the way to the ceiling. Each one contained a pokémon, or whatever was left of one, along with scraps of trash and feces near their feet. From Pidgeys to Tyranitars, from Sandshrews to Rhyhorns, from Eevees to Tropius, the cages trapped the beings in some container of their misfortune. Each body had some form of battle scar: torn ears, open gashes, infected wounds, mere patches of fur, missing limbs, and much, much worse. There were even some cages with scattered bones and no signs of who they belonged to. Even worse, the recently deceased were to shreds by the new occupants. The fresher beings huddled into the far corners of their cages, failing to avoid the restless gazes of the others and whimpering loudly.

"Oh my god!" Raven gasped, clutching my arm tightly. I was left speechless at the sight, clenching my fists and trembling with rage. Before I could begin any form of rescue plan, a door from the far end of the hall slid open to reveal another security guard.

"Hey! You're not suppo-" His words were cut short as a kunai knife pierced his throat.

"Alex?"

"Raven... go look for Luna and Rose."

"Alex?" I faced her and stared into her eyes. They held a great fear that began to manifest into tears. The reflection revealed an emotionless face except within the eyes. In those eyes, I saw a hellish flame burn in an intense frenzy of rage and anger. I saw a demon, not myself.

My body moved forward, stepping over the guard and retrieving the knife. An unknown force pushed me into the hallway and towards the arena. Two guards shouted and ran towards me, meeting a fate similar to the one earlier. I could only watch what was happening, screaming internally to stop. My body wouldn't listen and continued its path of destruction, killing guards that stood in its way. The main stage appeared and I saw the Elemental along with her Ampharos and Emolga. They were performing a spectacle of lightning strikes that seemed to flurry in a dance of energy. My feet moved towards the stage as I tried to regain my senses, but to no avail. Security guards along the rim of the stage drew out their side arms and aimed them at me. The Elemental saw me and grinned while continuing her performance.

"Ampharos, Wild Charge!" The Ampharos engulfed itself in a shield of electricity and charged after me. Right before impact, my leg quickly swung up and slammed down on the pokémon, stopping it dead in its tracks. The Elemental snapped out of her smug antics and gasped in horror from the sight of her fallen pokémon. The guards surrounded the stage and released the safeties on their weapons.

"Drop your weapons!" I couldn't comply. My body continued it advance towards the Elemental. "Stop now, or we will shoot!" The Elemental slowly backed away in an attempt to keep distance between us. A knife snuck its way into my hand and was raised to strike. I heard a bullet rip from one of the guns before everything became black. Amidst the darkness, I heard a demonic growl followed by screaming and tearing of flesh. The sounds stopped as I could no longer feel my body and everyone of my senses ceased.


	29. Chapter 28: Fighting Off Inner Demons

**Chapter 28: Fighting Off Inner Demons**

Pain. Throbbing pain. In my head. Pounding against my skull relentlessly. Along with... a voice? Something was trying to speak to me? That's it.

"..."

I slowly felt my limbs under my control as I shifted. My fingertips brushed the cold cement floor along with a slippery substance.

"...?"

I moved my arms to push myself onto my feet. My movements were sluggish as my muscles felt sore and weak.

"Hey, are...?"

I started to pick off words from the being and began to see a form in front of me. It was pale white and green? I think that's what it was.

"Can you hear me?"

I finally managed to register a full sentence from it. Pressure was placed on my shoulders as something rocked me back and forth.

"Hey! Are you still with me?" he asked. I clenched my teeth as his words stung my head with an unimaginable pain.

"Unfortunately," I mumbled, shifting my glasses. With a quick observation, I took note that I was in one of the hallways of the stadium with a single light that flickered above me, sparks shot off of torn wires, shards of glass covered the floor, and bullet holes slashed marks lined the wall.

There was also blood. The maroon substance stained the bright walls and pooled along the floor. My hands were soaked with blood that even trailed up my arm to my elbow. The stench of it filled my nostrils and twisted my stomach.

"Can you walk?" the being spoke.

"I think so," I grunted. I managed to get a good look at who was talking to me and found a battle-scarred Gallade before me. Various scratches, scars, cuts, and bruises tainted his white and green armor-like skin. Part of his chest spike was chipped off and cracked, and a eye patch covered one of his dark red eyes.

"C'mon," he chuckled. "Freedom is waiting for us." He marched forward while I limped from the hall to the stairs and drudged up the stairs. Halfway to the main level. the throbbing pain struck again as I clasped my head in agony.

"Blood!" a voice growled in my mind. I shook away the voice and continued my ascension. The Gallade opened the door from the stairwell and we stepped onto the main level. The whole stadium was empty. Snacks and drinks were sprawled across the floor, indicating a mad rush. My eyes observed the rest of the stadium and fell upon a gruesome sight.

The center stage was piled high with bodies, mangled and ripped open. Organs hung limply from the openings while blood streamed down like an ever flowing fountain. A demonic laughter flooded my mind, shaking my will to the very core.

"Beautiful." I fell to my knees as the sight brought that painful migraine. "Don't fight it. This is who you are. The death machine that has been lying dormant since birth."

"SHUT UP!" I screamed as I lied on the ground in the fetal position.

"Are you okay?" the Gallade asked, placing his hand on my arm. He recoiled as if something had burned him. The pain slowly faded away, leaving me to huff and pant with fatigue. After a moment or so of silence, my phone shook and blared its tune. I removed the device from my pocket and placed it against my ear.

"Hello?" I croaked.

"Oh my god! Are you okay?!" I had to move the phone away from my ear as Luna's voice screamed electronically.

"No, not at all. There are bodies piled on top of each other, I'm covered in blood, and I have a massive migraine."

"Alex... do you remember what happened?"

"The last thing I remember is a room filled with captured pokémon. Where are you?"

"You don't remember anything past that?"

"No, why?" A long silence came between us. "Luna? Are you there?" I heard her sniffling and trying her hardest to hold back her tears along with other shuffling.

"Alex? Where are you?"

"Alejandro? Where are you?"

"We're at the Pokémon Center. Where are you?"

"I'm still at the stadium. What happened?"

"Alex... you killed all of those men." My heart sank and my mind became blank.

"I killed all of those people?"

"You don't remember that?" My whole body shook violently and I dropped my phone. I couldn't believe what I heard.

"Alex? Are you there?" I slowly picked up my phone and placed it to my ear.

"Alejandro... did I hurt you guys?"

"No, you didn't." At least I had some sort of relief. I glanced towards the glass doors and saw hordes of police, FBI, and other gun-toting law enforcement aiming towards the stadium. "I don't know what you're doing, but you need to get out of there." I attempted to move, but fear held me in place as FBI riflemen moved towards the entrance. Their rifles maintained focus on my body as they burst through the doors.

"Drop your weapons!" one of them barked. They surrounded me in a U formation, leaving my back exposed to the railing. I held my hands in the air and dropped my phone with Alejandro still on the line. "On your knees!" I dropped onto my knees with my hands still in the air. As they converged, I shut my eyes and waited.

...

Everything became suddenly quiet and the texture of the floor shifted from smooth cement to gritty sand. I slowly opened my eyes and saw the vast, open ocean. With my heart pounding at an intense pace, I collapsed. I turned to see Rose, trying her best to fight back tears as well. She latched onto my arm, sobbing silently.

"Rose," I whispered, "I'm sorry."

"What happened?" she sobbed. I told her about the captured pokémon and the amount of rage that consumed me.

"It was like I had no control over what I did," I explained. "Something had taken over my body and killed all of those people." Rose was silent throughout the explanation, but I could sense her fear emanating from her. "Rose, I need you to back to the group and leave." Her tear-stained eyes met mine with uncertainty evident in them. "I'm a highly wanted criminal now, and I don't need you or anyone else involved in this. Besides, I'm a huge threat if what happened happens again." She tightened her grip on me.

"You promised me," she sobbed. "You promised you wouldn't leave." I could hear our voices as I recalled the memory.

_"Promise me. Promise me that you won't leave."_

_"I promise."_

"GAH!" I screamed as the voice returned.

"Break your promise!" it cackled. "Break it like the bones of those guards!"

"Alex, what's wrong?"

"Pain! Voice! GAAAAHH!" I saw the Gallade jog his way to us before he placed his hand on my forehead.

"It's worse than I thought," he sighed. "Whatever happened in that stadium, it caused something dark to manifest within him."

"How... do... I... get... rid... of... it?" I panted.

"The only one who can help you is Darkrai, but I don't know where he is or how to summon him," he replied.

"Y-You can s-summon Darkrai?" Rose stuttered.

"Yes, but I don't know how to."

"I might know someone who does," I grunted. "But I need new clothes to get to a phone."

* * *

I stood in one of the many alleyways that lined the buildings after barely dodging multiple police cars and FBI members. With lots of soap and hot water, I managed to wash off the dried blood off of my arms and wherever else it landed. Rose went into a nearby clothing store to buy me some concealing clothes while the Gallade stood by my side.

"So what's your name?" I asked. He looked at me and gave me a straight face.

"My old name is long gone," he answered in a serious tone. "Besides, that's not who I am anymore. They call me Smasher now. Heh, I suppose it suits me well."

"Can you tell me anything about what happened at the stadium?"

"Well, let's just say that you have one wicked primal side," he stated. "Whatever got you worked up allowed you to dodge their bullets and take hits like a pro. You came back after a while and sliced open the cages, setting everyone free. I stayed with you because I wanted to find out more about why you radiated with so much fury. I never found my answer because you passed out right after."

"This voice that's been in my mind has been telling me that I've been lying dormant as a killing machine, but from what you are saying, I didn't kill any of the pokémon."

"That's true. It is quite puzzling why you only targeted humans, but that doesn't matter at the moment. What does matter is how we're going to summon Darkrai."

"Yeah," I sighed. "I hope Rose is okay." As if I had summoned her, Rose quickly glided from the side of the building towards the alley and threw me a bag of clothes.

"Here, try these on," she stammered.

"What's wrong?" I asked. She seemed as if she was in a rush.

"I'll tell you later. Hurry! Get dressed!" I complied and threw on the clothes that she gave me. She managed to find a dark brown trench coat, a dark gray long-sleeved shirt, a pair of navy blue jeans, another pair of black tennis shoes, some fingerless gloves, and a baseball cap.

'Wow, I feel like Aiden fro Watchdogs,' I thought to myself. Rose saw that I was finished and hid behind me. A man came sprinting down the street and searched about the place. His eyes found mine and he stomped towards me.

"Sir, have you seen a Gardevoir around here?! It took some clothes from my store and I need them back!" I scratched the back of my head and played coy.

"I'm not sure," I said. "I might have seen one go down the street, but I can't quite recall." The man raised an eyebrow and gave me a good look over.

"Hey! These are the exact same clothes as the ones that were stolen!" Without warning, I slugged the man and wrapped an arm around his neck.

"Sorry about this," I whispered as he struggled for air. His body became limp and almost lifeless as the lack of oxygen knocked him out. I released my hold on his neck and allowed his body to fall to the ground.

"Will he be alright?" Rose asked.

"I'm not sure," I mumbled, "but I couldn't have him calling attention to me." All three of us stepped out of the alley and moved down the street, watching police and FBI vehicles drive past us. I kept the cap to where my eyes were barely visible but still allowed me to see straight ahead.

"How long will they keep searching?" Smasher questioned.

"For a long time," I sighed. We finally found a payphone and quickly searched around before dropping a quarter inside the machine. "I'm surprised these still exist," I stated, waiting for it to accept the money. I dialed Josh's number and waited until I heard ringing.

"Please leave your message for-"

"God dammit, Josh. Pick up the damn phone!" A few quarters later, Josh finally answered the phone.

"It's noon-thirty," he groaned, "people are trying to sleep!"

"Josh! Don't hang up! I need your help."

"You need some help. You're all over the news."

"Will you shut up?!" I yelled, slamming my fist into the wall. "I know what's happened and I'm trying to prevent it from happening again. Do you know anything about summoning Darkrai?"

"Duh. You should know that I'm a Dark type fanatic."

"Could you please explain to me how?" My request came out as an annoyed huff. I was running out of time and anger is something that wouldn't help.

"You're going to need some paper…"

* * *

I huffed as I finished the final touches on the summoning circle. It consisted of an outer ring with Unown letters that spelled out DARKRAI along with runs found in the Pokémon universe that spaced between them. Each letter had a spoke that connected with the center that held a cyan eye that resembled Darkrai's. The entire setup was surrounded by candles that illuminated the dark basement room. Rose, Smasher, and I found an abandoned home that was repainted to show off to the tourists and used it as our summoning site. Rose and Smasher were upstairs keeping an eye out for any characters that would approach the building and attempt to enter.

"Time for the best part," I sighed. I withdrew a kunai knife and placed the edge of the blade on my palm. I winced as the blade left an open, bleeding wound. I placed the bleeding palm on the center of the summoning sign and chanted. "Darkrai, I request an audience with you."

A black muck seeped through the symbol and engulfed the room. Darkness was all that was left dimly lit by the candles. The darkness began to manifest itself, taking on the form of the Pitch-Black Pokémon. His gaze fell upon me and I could sense it piercing my soul. He placed his hand on my shoulder before his deep voice boomed throughout the room.

"Why have you summoned me, child?"

"There is a darkness within me and I wish to remove it."

"Rise." I stood on my feet and let my eyes meet his. "This darkness cannot be removed. Since the beginning, there has been a darkness that lives within us, all of us. It even exists within our great creators, but they have learned to control it. As more beings were created, the darkness began to grow. Some were able to keep it at bay, but others let it consume and transform them into something… horrible. I was created to help prevent pokémon and humans from taking that path, but I need their help in achieving that goal. Child, are you willing to face the darkness within you?"

"If it prevents me from taking any more innocent lives, I am," I stated confidently.

"Good. For the record, a blood offering was not required to summon me."

'Dammit Josh!'

"Now hold still." With both of his arms on my shoulders, he dragged both of s into another realm of darkness. My eyelids became heavy as I fell into a deep slumber.

Moments later, I opened my eyes to see the stadium stage. The stage was lit from the ceiling lights that concentrated on the stage alone. In the seats were spectral beings with glowing eyes that bored their gazes into me. I watched as they focused their attention across the stage towards another dark being taking form, specifically my form. It was an exact duplicate of me, only in a jet black form with eyes that were blood red. He drew the ninjatō from his sheath, dripping with blood and giving off an aura of… anger. He held it in the exact same form I would and waited for me to make a move. I drew my sword and readied it before Darkrai's voice invaded the silence.

"No!" My sword flew from my hand and towards Darkrai. He clutched it before crushing it in his hand. I watched in horror as he destroyed my one possibility of winning. My duplicate looked at me before flashing a devilish grin, displaying rows of razor sharp teeth. He threw his sword blade first between us, lodging the glowing blade into the stage. He brought his hands together and slowly separated them. A pair of curved claws began to form across the back of his hands and came to a fine, sharp point. He changed his stance, raising his right arm and holding it back while his left arm extended out in front of him. The best I could do was hold up my fists and hope for the best. He flashed another grin before disappearing in a blur. I froze in place as I waited for him to reappear, never once letting my guard down. I felt the cold blade of one of the blades graze the side of my face.

"I've been waiting for this moment," he hissed into my ear. "I can't wait to rip you apart and plunge your remains into darkness." I swung my leg backwards and landed a blow on the being, giving me enough time to escape and face him. "You've got some fight." He slid his claws against each other and cackled. "It's time to rip it out."

He lashed out at me, scraping the tips of his claws against my clothes. I managed to move quick enough to prevent my flesh from taking the slice, but he continued his attacks in an animalistic flurry. His claws would nick at my clothes, but he was always barely out of reach of my skin. "Hold still. It'll be quick and painful." Hope was dwindling for me as he became faster, quicker, and smarter as I kept dodging. Eventually, he managed to land one of his claws on my skin, slicing my skin and allowing blood to freely flow. I winced but attempted to focus on moving, never stopping. However, as I continued, I began to take notice that something to fill me, the very same thing that brought this monster to life. Anger.

"You're finally beginning to take notice?!" my doppelganger laughed. "Your anger is what fuels me. Fear is what fuels you. Your fear of losing, your fear of death, your fear of losing loved ones..." I stopped in placed and turned to face him as his slashing ceased. My fists clenched tightly as I felt his words cause my blood to boil. "Even your fear of losing that pathetic Lucario." If the sound of someone's snap could be audible, mine would be equivalent to an atomic bomb. I lunged to him and let my fist collide with his face at a blinding speed. He was launched from the stage into the seats before crashing. After a quick recovery, he leaped back to the stage and cackled once more.

"Yes! There's that spark I was looking for! Let the rage consume you!" I lunged at him again, but he blocked the attack and proceeded to do so with my other hits. My arms and legs continued to systematically swing at him, but he blocked each with precision and ease. However, one of my kicks connected with his chest and knocked him flat on his back.

'I can't win like this,' I thought. 'I need a blade.' I quickly scanned the area and saw the glowing ninjatō. I attempted to retrieve it, but the aura it gave off burned my hand and prevented me from wielding it. The being took that moment to slash at me, creating three large gashes across my chest. I screamed in pain and fell onto one knee. He laughed maniacally as he raised one of his claws.

"Time to extinguish your flame."

'Luna...' He brought his claw down and I held up my forearms in vain.

'I love you.'

_*shnnk*_

I felt a dull force press against my arms instead of searing pain. I opened my eyes and saw frustration on the monster's face.

"Impossible!" On my forearms were an identical pair of guards. After the initial shock faded, I lifted myself and launched him away with my foot. "That's impossible!" he screeched. He lunged for me and scraped his claws across my guards once more. My arms moved in sync with his and deflected each slash. "How are you doing this?!" I landed a few blows on his chest and swung my leg down on his head. With an audible thwack, the being collided with my foot and crashed to the ground. I took that moment to further inspect my saviors. The plating that protected me glowed a navy blue, black, and silver color. The silver portion came to a point as a design or pattern, almost like a spike. The black portion was closest to my hand while the navy blue ran up my arm.

'These look like the forearms of... a Lucario!' My thoughts were drastically cut short as a foreign object pierced and tore open my abdomen.

"Ashes to ashes," the being cackled. Blood dripped from the puncture wound, draining the life left in me. I gripped onto his arm to prevent the blades from digging any further. I glanced up at him for what I thought would be the last time when I saw the ninjatō right next to him. As a last resort, I reached out and wrapped my fingers around the handle. This time, however, I was not burned from the aura. With my hand planted on the handle, I dislodged the sword and raised it high. I let loose loud battle cry and brought my blade downward with the strength I had left. The blade ripped through the being's shoulder and sliced its arm clean off.

"Dust to dust," I muttered. Black blood sprayed from the being as he flailed about and screamed in agony. The arm still in my abdomen vanished along with all the wounds that I gained throughout the fight. With my newly refreshed form, I walked towards the flailing shadow. I knocked him onto his knees and raised the ninjatō again.

"Finish it!" the being spat. Every fiber in my being screamed at me to end it all right here and now, but I knew that I couldn't do it. I lowered the blade and planted it into the ground. Darkrai reappeared and took my place.

"Demon," Darkrai spoke, "your time has come." He pinned the shadow down and mumbled a chant. The chant resonated throughout the area and incited a shrill cry from the demon.

"I will return," the demon cackled. "And next time, I won't hold back. Darkness will consume your heart!" He dissolved in a black muck, only to be replaced by a pitch black poké ball.

"Your darkness shall remain suppressed with this ball," Darkrai explained. "Beware, the ball can only handle so much stress, so another outburst of dark energy will set him free."

"Thank you for your assistance, Darkrai," I bowed.

"I do have one question. In all of the centuries I have existed, I have rarely seen anyone overcome their darkness. Do tell me, what allowed you to accomplish this task?" I relived my battle and thought over each step, swing, and dodge. The moment that stood out in my mind was the moment those guards appeared on my forearms. My final thoughts at that moment were on... Luna.

"I believe that it was my love for my beloved Lucario, Luna," I replied. "In all of my trials, my love for her has been my driving force."

"Interesting," he stated. "It seems that love is a common variable, but this has to be the first time that a human has fought for the love for their pokémon." He gave me a slight bow, surprising me on an unbelievable scale. "For this, you have my utmost respect."

"Thank you, Darkrai."

"Now, we must part ways. Farewell, Master Alex. I do expect that we will see each other again."

* * *

"Alex! Alex, wake up!" My senses slowly came to as I rose from my slumber-like state.

"Rose? Is that you?"

"Yes, but we need to get you home now!" she stammered.

"What's happen-"

"Alex Mora. How's it going, my friend?" I dashed from the basement and out into the open streets. I looked up and saw a face that made my blood boil. However, he was broadcasting his face over almost all the TVs. "I couldn't help but get to know you some more," the Fire Elemental smirked. "And what better way to do that than to ask those who know you the most." He stepped to the side and revealed my family bound and gagged. "They speak fondly of you. It's a shame that you aren't here to see them. How about this? You come and visit them, and I will consider not slicing their throats. See you soon."

"Alex..." Rose muttered with concern.

"How fast can you teleport me home?" I growled.

"In a few minutes or so. I need to go through your memories and-"

"Take me home," I stated. Without another word, she gripped my shoulders and closed her eyes. After a few minutes, she and I instantaneously teleported from Carrizo to Driftwood, and what I saw I couldn't believe.


End file.
